Could solo mining beat corporate Bitcoin miners?

Opinion by: Dr. Michael Tabone, senior economist for Cointelegraph

Bitcoin (BTC) mining has long been dominated by large-scale industrial operations, with public companies like Marathon Digital, CleanSpark and Riot Platforms controlling significant portions of the global hashrate. But what if that balance of power shifted? What if millions of individuals across industrialized nations took up home mining?

Home Bitcoin miners

This hypothetical scenario isn’t as far-fetched as it seems, especially with the rise of small, efficient ASICs like the Bitaxe Gamma 601, FutureBit Apollo, iPollo v1 Mini BTC and Antminer S9 SE/Hyrdo, giving the home miner hash power ranging from 1.2 to 17 terahashes per second. Some solo home Bitcoin miners have even won blocks, including ones on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30, 2025. So, what if every Bitcoiner in the United States, or even across industrialized countries, ran a solo miner? 

If every Bitcoin holder in the US (approximately 67 million residents) alone deployed the lowest hash rate-producing miner from the list, the network would gain about 80.4 exahashes per second (EH/s), which is a substantial boost to the global network, but this wouldn’t outright surpass the corporate giants.

Let’s take this further. If every Bitcoin holder in industrialized countries, including Europe (31 million), Japan (3.7 million), South Korea (15.6 million) and Australia (approximately 5 million) joined in, the cumulative hashrate would reach an astonishing 146.76 EH/s, significantly boosting the existing global hashrate (see Figure 1).

• Global Bitcoin Hashrate (as of Jan. 30, 2025): 835.04 EH/s

• Percentage Change with US Miners: (80.4 EH/s ÷ 835.04 EH/s) × 100 ≈ 9.63%

• Percentage Change with Industrial Countries: (146.76 EH/s ÷ 835.04 EH/s) × 100

≈ 17.57%

Bitcoin network hashrate percentage change with US and Industrial Countries – Source: Dr. Michael Tabone.

What would this mean for Bitcoin?

Industrial mining companies would have to compete against a truly decentralized mining force. With no single entity able to exert control over mining, Bitcoin’s security model would be reinforced against state-level attacks, regulatory capture or corporate collusion. A widely distributed hashrate would eliminate concerns over miner-driven censorship and make Bitcoin immune to government crackdowns.

Recent: Monthly Bitcoin production drops as miners fight rising hashrate

Network security would reach unprecedented levels, making 51% attacks financially unfeasible. However, such an increase in mining participation would also introduce significant challenges, primarily in energy consumption, accessibility and incentives.

The practical barriers to mass solo mining

Despite the benefits, several factors make it unlikely that every Bitcoiner in an industrialized country would set up a solo mining operation. One of the most immediate obstacles is cost. Even small, efficient miners like the Bitaxe Gamma come with an upfront price tag of $180–$220, which, while reasonable for some, still poses a financial barrier for many. 

Electricity costs also vary widely by region, making mining infeasible for those in high-cost energy markets.