How to mine Bitcoin at home in 2025: A realistic guide

Key takeaways

• Lottery mining is cheap and fun, but don’t count on hitting a block.
• Solo ASIC mining gives you complete control, but it’s a long-odds game.
• Pool mining is the most practical way to earn steady payouts at home.
• Cloud mining saves you the hassle but usually isn’t worth the cost.

Bitcoin is rapidly gaining legitimacy, and you couldn’t be blamed for wanting to peek behind the curtain to see how it’s made.

Throughout 2024 and into 2025, you’ve seen a whirlwind of institutional investment from companies like Strategy, which continues to aggressively accumulate Bitcoin (BTC), and Metaplanet, Japan’s listed company that recently adopted BTC as a treasury reserve asset. 

Moreover, on the regulatory front, the return of a US President Donald Trump administration signals a friendlier stance toward crypto, with talk of rolling back SEC overreach and possibly supporting US-based mining. 

Across the Atlantic, the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation has gone into effect in the EU, offering clearer guidelines and reducing regulatory uncertainty for retail investors and miners alike.

Then there’s the price. Bitcoin finally broke the long-anticipated $100,000 resistance level in early 2025, following a post-halving supply shock and increased ETF-driven demand. As institutions pour in and supply tightens, more individuals are re-evaluating how to get involved.

Whatever your motivation, one thing’s certain: You want to mine from the comfort of your home. 

This article will explain four realistic ways to mine Bitcoin at home in 2025, what gear you’ll need, how much it might cost, and what kind of returns you can expect.

Did you know? Bitcoin mining has developed into a sizable industry, with revenues growing by over 6,700% from 2021 to 2025. 

Option 1: Lottery mining – Low power, high risk, rare rewards

If you’re working with a limited budget but still want to try Bitcoin mining, lottery mining offers an interesting — if highly unpredictable — way.

In July 2024, a solo miner using just three TH/s of hash power — roughly what you’d get from two small USB devices — successfully mined an entire Bitcoin block. The reward was 3.192 BTC, worth over $200,000 at the time. Statistically, that kind of result should take thousands of years. But with some luck and help from the Solo CKPool platform, it actually happened.

These wins are extremely rare, but they do happen. And that’s what keeps some people interested.

Most lottery miners use small, low-power devices like the Bitaxe HEX, an open-source miner built with actual Antminer chips. It runs at around three TH/s, costs about $600 and pairs easily with a Raspberry Pi. Another popular option is the GekkoScience R909, a USB miner running at 1.5 TH/s and a favorite among hobbyists. 

These devices aren’t built for steady income. They’re closer to digital slot machines, but ones that still contribute to securing the Bitcoin network.

So why do people do it?

Three main reasons:

• Running an independent node supports the health and resilience of the Bitcoin network.
• It’s a good way to get familiar with how mining works.
• A single successful block can be worth a lot, and it’s all yours if it happens.

For most, it’s not about making money. It’s about the challenge and the curiosity, like building a custom PC or restoring a vintage radio. And yes, it also looks great plugged in on a shelf, blinking quietly under a glowing Bitcoin lamp.

Next up: ASICs, the heavy-duty hardware of serious miners.

Did you know? Solo CKPool is designed for independent miners who want to submit their shares directly to the Bitcoin network. Unlike traditional mining pools, if you’re successful here, the entire reward goes to you (minus a small pool fee). There’s no revenue sharing, no splitting blocks.

Option 2: ASIC mining – Solo mining with real hardware

If lottery mining is like buying a single ticket and hoping for a lucky break, solo mining with an ASIC is showing up with a small stack. Your chances improve, but it’s still a long shot.

ASICs — application-specific integrated circuits — are purpose-built for Bitcoin mining. In 2025, high-end models like the Antminer S21 Hydro deliver impressive performances, reaching around 400 terahashes per second with improved energy efficiency over previous generations.

Let’s look at the numbers.

The Bitcoin network currently runs at around 500 exahashes per second. With one S21 Hydro, you’d control roughly 0.00008% of the total hashrate. That gives you odds of about one in 8.6 billion of finding a block on any given day. It’s still extremely unlikely, but it’s far better than what you’d get with low-power USB miners.

To meaningfully improve your chances, you’d need to scale up.

Running 20 ASICs could put you past eight petahashes per second, enough, in theory, to find a block about once a year. But that setup requires significant capital, proper ventilation or immersion cooling and a reliable energy supply. Even then,…