A solo miner scored a major win even as the broader market frets over a multimillion-dollar Coldcard hardware wallet exploit.
According to mempool data, an independent miner successfully packaged block 960,804 early Monday. The block reward of 3.157 BTC is valued at approximately $199,300. Details on the specific hardware used remain unknown.
The success came just three weeks after another solo miner, running a single hobbyist-grade Bitaxe device, struck block 957,382, pocketing 3.1382 BTC, worth roughly $200,000 at the time.
These back-to-back wins highlight a broader trend. Solo miners have already claimed 13 blocks this year. While individual operators continue to defy the odds with relatively modest setups, the wider Bitcoin mining sector has come under stress due to tight margins. That has prompted several large mining companies to pivot toward artificial intelligence data centers and related infrastructure in search of sustainability.
Meanwhile, small BTC holders continue to express frustration over the Coldcard incident, which has led to the loss of long-held Bitcoin savings. Over the weekend, onchain data showed signs of some BTC holders moving millions of dollars worth of coins to exchanges.