How Bitcoin Mining Works

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital currency that:

• isn’t controlled by a bank or government,

• runs on a public ledger called the blockchain, and

• can be sent directly from one person to another (peer-to-peer).

Every Bitcoin transaction is recorded in blocks on this blockchain.

What is Bitcoin mining?

Bitcoin mining is how new blocks get added to the blockchain.

Miners:

1. collect new transactions,

2. bundle them into a block, and

3. compete to solve a cryptographic puzzle (by making huge numbers of “hash” guesses).

The first miner to find a valid solution wins the right to add the block and earns the block reward (currently 3.125 BTC) plus transaction fees.

That’s where the “lottery” feeling comes from: thousands of miners are all racing to find the winning hash.

What is a “hash” and what is hashrate?

A hash is like a digital guess. Your miner keeps guessing until it finds one that fits the network’s rules.

• Hashrate = how many guesses your miner can make per second

• Measured in:

  • kH/s (thousands per second)

  • MH/s (millions)

  • GH/s (billions)

  • TH/s (trillions)

Your chance of finding a block depends on your hashrate compared to the total Bitcoin network hashrate (all miners worldwide combined). With small home miners, your hashrate is tiny compared to the whole network, which is why we describe it as lottery-style odds, not a reliable income.

Solo mining vs pool mining

Solo mining (the “lottery ticket”)

• Your miner connects to your own node or a solo pool.

• If you find a block, you receive the full block reward (3.125 BTC + fees).

• It’s a long shot, but every time the network finds a new block (roughly every ~10 minutes), it’s like you’re “in the draw” again.

What is 3.125 BTC worth in rands?
As of 27 December 2025, 1 BTC is roughly R1.45M–R1.48M, so 3.125 BTC is roughly ~R4.5M–R4.6M (this changes constantly with the BTC price and exchange rate). 

Pool mining (small, regular payouts)

• You join a mining pool with many other miners.

• Everyone contributes hashrate.

• When the pool finds a block, rewards are shared out based on contributed work.

With a small miner, payouts are typically tiny amounts in sats (fractions of a Bitcoin), but it’s a great way to learn how mining works and see real payouts over time.

What are HashLotto miners?

HashLotto focuses on small, low-power Bitcoin hobby miners, devices like NerdMiner and Bitaxe-style mini ASICs.

They’re designed for:

• learning how Bitcoin mining works (hands-on),

• experimenting with solo “lotto” mining,

• trying pool mining and seeing sats come in,

• having a fun “desk miner” that’s part gadget, part education.

These are not meant to compete with industrial mining farms. Think of them as educational tech gadgets for Bitcoin fans.

What these miners are NOT

We want to be very clear:

• ❌ Not guaranteed investments

• ❌ Not a reliable “monthly income” machine
  

They are:

• ✅ A fun way to swap “lotto money” for hash power + learning

• ✅ A practical way to understand mining beyond YouTube videos

• ✅ A hobby with lottery-style odds (especially for solo mining)

Electricity, costs and expectations

South African electricity is expensive, so it’s important to be realistic.

A good mindset is:

“I’m willing to spend R X per month on Lotto tickets.
Instead, I’ll spend that on electricity for a tiny Bitcoin miner and treat it as a hobby + learning project.”

And if you have solar, think of it like this:

“I’m swapping spare daytime solar for ‘free’ lottery tickets, the miner can run on surplus power while I learn how mining works.”

That way you’re paying for the experience and education, and any mining rewards are a bonus, not a promise.

Why we built HashLotto

HashLotto is for people who:

• are curious about Bitcoin,

• want to understand mining properly,

• like the “lotto ticket” feeling, but would rather spend money on hardware + knowledge than paper slips.

Our goal is to:

• sell low-power hobby miners locally in South Africa,

• be honest about odds and expectations,

• make it easy to get started and have fun.

Important disclaimer

Nothing on this site is financial advice.

• Treat these devices as hobby gadgets and educational tools, not investments.

• Mining outcomes depend on many factors: Bitcoin price, network difficulty, fees, pool luck, and electricity costs.

If this still sounds fun to you, welcome to HashLotto 🙂