Solo mining 2026: profitability, risks, and costs

There are two main approaches to cryptocurrency mining: solo mining and participation in a mining pool. These options differ in terms of income structure, operating principles, and risks.

What is solo mining?

Solo mining is the independent mining of cryptocurrency by a user without the participation of any third parties or organizations. With solo mining, the user mines cryptocurrency entirely on their own, regardless of whether they use their own equipment or rented hardware.

Due to the constantly increasing difficulty of various blockchain networks operating on the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin, solo mining is becoming less and less popular.

Moreover, according to statistics, more than 99% of the Bitcoin network's hashrate* belongs to mining pools.

* Hashrate is a measure of the computing power of mining equipment or an entire blockchain network. It is measured in hashes per second (H/s) and its derivatives: kH/s (kilohashes per second), MH/s (megahashes per second), GH/s (gigahashes per second), TH/s (terahashes per second), PH/s (petahashes per second), and EH/s (exahashes per second). The higher a miner's hashrate, the more calculations it performs and the greater the probability of finding a new block.

The vast majority of Bitcoin blocks are also mined through mining pools. For example, according to mempool.space weekly statistics at the end of September 2026, only 0.72% of the blocks found were classified as Unknown, while the rest were attributed to various pools. The five largest pools — Foundry USA, AntPool, F2Pool, ViaBTC, and SpiderPool — accounted for approximately 78.7% of all blocks mined during that period.

However, despite this distribution, a small number of users still prefer solo mining.

How does solo mining work?

To mine cryptocurrency independently, a miner must not only install the equipment themselves but also configure all the necessary software. The most popular solution for solo mining is the use of specialized ASIC* devices designed specifically for cryptocurrency mining.

* ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) is a specialized computing device designed to perform a specific type of calculation. In mining, ASIC devices are used to mine particular cryptocurrencies and generally significantly outperform conventional processors and graphics cards in terms of performance and energy efficiency.

However, there are also solo mining options such as miner hosting services or cloud mining*, which allow users to mine cryptocurrency using rented equipment.

* Cloud mining is a method of cryptocurrency mining in which a user rents computing power from remote mining equipment instead of purchasing and maintaining devices independently. The equipment is hosted and maintained by a third-party provider, while the user pays for rented hashrate and receives the share of mining income specified by the service terms.

For solo mining, the user needs to run a full network node, or so-called full node, using specialized software. A solo miner will also need to download the complete blockchain history, which, for example, exceeds 700 GB on the Bitcoin network.

Depending on the internet connection speed, the initial download of this amount of data for solo mining can take anywhere from several hours to several days: at 100 Mbps, it would theoretically take around 16 hours, while at 20–50 Mbps, it would take approximately 1.5 to 3 days. In practice, the process may take longer due to the verification and processing of downloaded blocks.

After successfully downloading the blockchain and launching the node, the user's node must be synchronized with the blockchain network for solo mining. Depending on the computer's performance, storage speed, and internet connection, synchronization may also take anywhere from several hours to several days, after which the cryptocurrency mining process can begin.

While operating the node, the solo mining equipment may require maintenance, as devices are subject to wear and possible failures. Any equipment downtime means a temporary halt in cryptocurrency mining and, consequently, a loss of potential income.

Advantages of solo mining

Receiving the maximum possible income

Unlike mining pool participants, owners of their own cryptocurrency mining farms are not dependent on platforms that distribute payouts among miners and do not have to pay them fees. In addition, with solo mining, users receive not only the block reward but also the income from fees paid for cryptocurrency transactions.

In September 2026, the Bitcoin reward was 3.125 BTC per mined block (approximately $259,000 at the current exchange rate) — this amount was established after the April 2024 halving.

Provided that cryptocurrency mining rewards are received regularly, solo mining is more profitable than participating in a mining pool.

Full control over the process

With solo mining, the user does not depend on third parties that may suspend withdrawals or retain part of the income by changing income distribution rules unilaterally.

In addition, the miner retains complete freedom when configuring their solo mining equipment, unlike pool participants, who are required to comply with the rules of the platforms they connect to.

Disadvantages of solo mining

Low chance of receiving a reward

Even if solo mining does generate a reward, this generally happens only rarely due to the high level of competition in cryptocurrency mining, including competition from mining pools.

The higher the network difficulty, the lower the chance of successfully mining a block through solo mining. To maintain even a small chance, it is necessary to increase the computing power of the mining equipment.

High risk of earning no income

With a mining farm that has limited computing power, successfully mining a block through solo mining may take years or even decades. For example, at the current Bitcoin network difficulty, a farm with a hashrate of 10 PH/s has an estimated average block discovery time of around 1.8 years. However, the outcome is probabilistic, so the actual waiting time in solo mining may differ significantly.

For comparison, a farm with a hashrate of 10 PH/s corresponds to 50 Antminer S21 ASIC miners with a performance of 200 TH/s each, or approximately 38 Antminer S21 XP miners with a performance of 270 TH/s. Based on publicly available retail offers, this amount of equipment may cost approximately $43,000–56,000 for Antminer S21 units or $125,000–142,000 for Antminer S21 XP units, excluding electricity, cooling, premises, and maintenance expenses. At the same time, solo mining provides no guarantee of earning income.

Unlike solo mining, pool participants receive rewards even as network difficulty increases — their payouts may simply decrease. At the same time, rewards are still received even if the miner does not independently find a block.

Ongoing costs

With solo mining, a reward is paid only if the miner successfully finds a block independently. This may happen very rarely, while expenses are incurred continuously: the equipment constantly consumes electricity, wears out, and may eventually require repairs or replacement. Therefore, the costs of solo mining remain even during periods when the miner earns no income.

Conclusions about solo mining

The fact that solo mining is accessible to a wide range of users does not necessarily mean that it is practical. A user may purchase equipment worth several thousand US dollars, but the possibility of successfully mining cryptocurrency independently remains highly uncertain.

For solo mining, it is also important to consider other economic factors, such as access to inexpensive electricity and the tax burden, both of which can significantly affect the profitability of independent cryptocurrency mining.

Simply put, in 2026, solo mining is profitable only when operating a large cryptocurrency mining farm. A business of this scale requires tens of millions of dollars in initial investment alone.

According to various estimates, successfully finding a single Bitcoin block may require hundreds of thousands to millions of TH/s; in other words, several thousand ASIC devices.

Otherwise, the chance of successfully mining a block is extremely small, even when using the most efficient ASIC devices for solo mining.

However, the possibility of successful cryptocurrency mining remains even with solo mining. For example, in 2026 alone, solo miners managed to mine a Bitcoin block twice — in April and June.

In the first case, a solo miner managed to mine a block with a hashrate of just 70 TH/s, while the total computing power of the network exceeded 900 EH/s. This is roughly equivalent to the performance of a single Antminer S17+ ASIC miner. For comparison, some ASIC miners are capable of producing 200–300 TH/s or more, so this represents relatively modest computing power. At this hashrate, the chance of mining a block was only around 1 in 100,000, or 0.001%.