Bitcoin solo mining: what it is, how it works and who it is worth it for

Every Bitcoin miner in the world works on the same task: finding a hash below the network’s target. Whoever finds it gets to write the next block and receives the block reward, currently 3.125 BTC plus the block’s transaction fees, on average over the last four weeks around 3.14 BTC together. In pool mining many miners join forces and share every find proportionally; everyone receives tiny amounts continuously. In solo mining your device works on its own. The reward goes entirely to the Bitcoin address you entered in the miner, via the coinbase transaction, with no account, no custody and no payout threshold. If you find no block, you get nothing.

The word “pool” still shows up: a solo pool such as our pool.bitaxe.de runs the Bitcoin node and the stratum server so that your miner gets a block template. Nothing is shared there. The alternative is your own node with the Public Pool app. Both are genuine solo mining; the only difference is who builds the template.

1. The node (yours or the solo pool’s) builds a block template from the mempool with your address in the coinbase transaction and sends it to the miner via stratum.
2. The ASIC hashes the template with changing nonces, a Bitaxe Gamma at factory settings around 1.07 trillion times per second.
3. Every hash below the pool difficulty (from 1,000 on our pool) goes back as a share, as proof that the miner is working. Shares pay nothing; they only fill your dashboard.
4. If a hash is also below the network difficulty (around 132.8 T on 26 September 2026; our network dashboard shows the live value), it is a block. The pool submits it to the network at once, and the reward becomes spendable on your address after 100 further blocks (around 17 hours).
5. On average every ten minutes somebody in the world finds a block, the template is renewed and the game starts again.

The decisive point: every hash is an independent draw. There is no progress that “accumulates”, and no device becomes “due” over time. The chance is the same in every second and depends only on your hashrate and the difficulty.

For devices under 20 TH/s the decision is simpler than it sounds: the proportional amounts from a pool sit below the electricity cost, so whether you get 4 cents a day or not changes little in the balance. The ticket for the entire block is the reason to run a home miner. That is why we recommend for every Bitaxe, Nerdaxe, NerdQaxe and NerdOctaxe: solo. Which pools qualify is compared in Choosing a Bitaxe mining pool.

The Bitcoin network computes at around 920 EH/s, that is 920 quintillion hashes per second (as of 26 September 2026; the network dashboard shows the live value). A Bitaxe Gamma contributes 1.07 TH/s at factory settings, so its share of the next block is about 1 in 860 million. Over a year with around 52,600 blocks this becomes:

For comparison: a ticket for the jackpot of the German lottery (6 out of 49 with bonus number) has a chance of 1 in 140 million. A single block is therefore even less likely for the Gamma, but the network draws around 144 times a day, the lottery only twice a week. Over a year the Gamma’s chance equals around 8,300 lottery tickets, for about €45 of electricity. The full calculation with expected value and difficulty scenarios is in Finding a block with a Bitaxe; for your device and electricity price use the mining calculator.

Home miners finding blocks is not a theory. Which device solved a block is never written into the blockchain, though; the attribution comes from pool logs. These solo blocks from Bitaxe-class devices are backed by pool data and at least one independent report, and every block can be checked on mempool.space:

Five of these blocks come from Bitaxe devices, two from the Nerd series. Each paid the full reward of around 3.13 to 3.19 BTC to the finder’s address, minus a 2 % fee on solo.ckpool.org. That it keeps happening despite the tiny individual chance is down to sheer numbers: public-pool.io alone counted over 25,000 connected miners with around 50 PH/s combined on 26 September 2026.

Be careful with lists on the web: several supposed Bitaxe blocks are misattributed, for example 889,975 (an address with 2.43 PH/s according to the pool log) or 913,272 (OCEAN pool, the reward went to 17 participants). Any hit through our pool would show up live on pool.bitaxe.de; up to 26 September 2026 there had not been one yet. The stories behind the blocks are in Finding a block with a Bitaxe.

• A miner: every Bitaxe, Nerdaxe, NerdQaxe or NerdOctaxe can solo mine; the hashrate only sets the chance. The Bitaxe Gamma at around 17 W is the quiet entry, while the NerdQaxe++ brings a good four times the chance at around 76 W.
• 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and a socket. The miner needs no more infrastructure.
• A Bitcoin address whose keys you control: a hardware wallet or your own wallet, no exchange and no Lightning address. That is where the block pays.
• A block template: either our solo pool with host stratum.bitaxe.de, port 3333, user = your address (optionally with .workername), password x (servers in Frankfurt, 0 % fee, starting difficulty 1,000), or your own node with Public Pool on Umbrel (umbrel.local, port 2018).

In AxeOS 2.15 you enter the values on the Pool page in the fields Stratum Host, Stratum Port, User and Password, then save and restart. In NerdOS the fields are under Settings in the “Stratum Settings” card (Stratum Host, Stratum Port, Username, Password). The pool configurator generates the values ready to copy, and the step-by-step setup is in the Bitaxe setup guide. If no shares come in after a few minutes, the troubleshooter finds the cause. If you want to run the node yourself, the route is in Connecting a Bitaxe to your own Bitcoin node; the chance is the same, the block template then comes from you.

Stratum V2 encrypts the connection between miner and pool, and the authority key lets your miner check that it really is talking to our pool. That way nobody in between can read along or quietly redirect your hashrate. AxeOS supports it from version 2.14, NerdOS from 1.0.37. The values for our pool:

• Stratum Protocol: Stratum V2, in AxeOS with SV2 Channel Type “Extended Channels”
• Stratum Host and Port: stratum.bitaxe.de, port 3336 (large ASICs 4336)
• SV2 Authority Pubkey: 9awpfZGWfrRBH8fkf82mWvnXMSTC7i9M3mshB8M56cw9UXTGdYi
• Require Authentication: switch it on, then the miner only connects to the genuine pool
• User and Password: as with V1, your Bitcoin address and x

As a fallback you can add a second pool with V1 on port 3333. Every field and the failure patterns when the connection does not come up are in Setting up Stratum V2 on a Bitaxe.

For a home miner in Europe a lot speaks for a solo pool with servers in Europe, no account and the smallest possible fee. The fee only matters if you win, but then it matters a lot: 2 % of a block is currently around €4,600. Our Bitaxe Pool runs in Frankfurt, charges 0 %, supports Stratum V2 and offers SOLO groups in which several miners share a found block proportionally (1 % fee). Mining there also earns points for Bitaxe Rewards.

Well-known alternatives are solo.ckpool.org (2 %, European server eusolo.ckpool.org), Braiins Solo (0.5 %) and public-pool.io (0 %, servers in the USA according to our measurement). The detailed comparison with ports and settings is in Choosing a Bitaxe mining pool.

It suits you if you want to understand Bitcoin instead of only reading about it; if you like the idea that every hash from your device has the same chance as every hash from a farm; if you want to bring your own hashrate to the network instead of handing it to a big pool; and if you book around €4 to €44 of electricity a month as the stake.

It does not suit you if you expect regular income, if “nothing happening” frustrates you after three months, or if you need a return on the hardware. Then a regular pool is more honest, or no miner at all.

One ASIC, an open board, open firmware (AxeOS), a Bitcoin address instead of a pool account: the Bitaxe fits solo mining exactly. The dashboard shows the best difficulty, the best share your device has ever found, and makes the ticket visible. If your miner actually finds a block, AxeOS reports “Today is your lucky day! Your device has found a block”. It starts with the Gamma at around 17 W on your desk; if you want more chance, take a NerdQaxe++ or NerdOctaxe running NerdOS. All use the same pool values and the same web flasher. Which device fits which setup is in Buy a Bitcoin miner.

Solo mining is the most honest way to take part in Bitcoin: no middleman, no custody, the full reward or nothing at all. The chance is small but precisely known, and the stake is the electricity. A Gamma, four values in AxeOS, and from today your device plays in every draw.