Hashrate
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0 H/s
0 hashes tried
BTC/USD
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Block height
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Pool
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Next halving
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-- blocks left
Real Bitcoin proof-of-work, made understandable
Try lottery mining on this PC.
This app connects to a real Bitcoin solo mining pool, asks for real block work, and lets your computer try hashes. It is wildly unlikely to find a block, but it is a great way to see what mining actually is.
1
Paste a Bitcoin payout address. No private keys, no wallet login.
2
Press start. Your CPU begins trying SHA-256 hashes against a live block template.
3
Watch the dashboard and learn why the lottery odds are so extreme.
Live miner
Mining dashboard
Best ticket
-- diff
waiting for hashes
Lottery odds
--
Start mining to estimate your pace.
Current block work
no job yetThis is the advanced view. It shows the block-header pieces miners combine before changing the nonce and hashing again.
Version
--------Previous block
--------Merkle path
0 branchesTime
--------Bits
--------Nonce
idleActivity
self-test checkingMining from zero
Understand Bitcoin mining by doing it.
This page walks from first principles to the real miner in this app. No wallet knowledge, no command line, no ASIC required.
Bitcoin is a public timeline.
Bitcoin groups transactions into blocks. Each block points to the previous block, so everyone can agree on one shared order of events without asking a central company.
The trick is making that timeline hard to rewrite. Mining is the cost that protects the history.
A miner builds a candidate block.
A miner collects transactions, adds a reward transaction paying itself, and makes a compact 80-byte block header. That header contains the previous block, a transaction fingerprint, a timestamp, the target, and a changeable number called the nonce.
Block headerthe puzzle data
Noncethe guess
SHA-256 twicethe fingerprint machine
Hashthe result
Mining is guessing until the hash is low enough.
A hash looks like random hex text. Bitcoin treats that text as a huge number. If the number is below the current target, the block is valid. If it is too high, the miner changes the nonce and tries again.
Too high
7f31...c9a0Closer
001c...91bfValid
0000...09afDifficulty keeps blocks roughly ten minutes apart.
If miners around the world add more machines, blocks would arrive too quickly. Bitcoin responds by lowering the target, which makes the puzzle harder. If miners leave, it gets easier again.
Your PC is doing the same kind of proof-of-work as an ASIC miner, just much slower. That is why this app is a lottery and a learning tool, not a realistic income source.
Try the nonce
One tiny change, totally different hash.
Press a nonce below. The pretend block data barely changes, but the hash becomes unrecognizable. Real miners do this billions or trillions of times.
block header + nonce 0
press a nonce to make a hash
Waiting for a guess
Bitcoin supply clock
The halving cuts new coins per block.
Miners are paid with transaction fees plus a block subsidy. Every 210,000 blocks, the subsidy halves. This does not make mining easier; it changes the reward side of the lottery.
Next halving block--
Blocks left--
Estimated time--
Subsidy after-- BTC
How to use the app after this
Start real pool mining with a payout address. No private keys are needed.
Watch live hashrate, odds, best hash, and the technical block work.
Replay old low-difficulty blocks so your CPU can visibly find a historical proof.
Slow one guess down and inspect the header, nonce, double hash, and target.
What happens if this finds a real block?
The app submits the proof to the solo pool. The pool checks it and broadcasts it. If the Bitcoin network accepts the block, the pool pays according to its solo-pool rules using your payout address.
Words you will see
A bundle of Bitcoin transactions waiting to be added to the chain.
A fingerprint made from data. Mining means trying many fingerprints very fast.
The small number miners keep changing to get a different hash.
The maximum hash value that counts as a valid block. Smaller target means harder mining.
A human-friendly way to say how hard the current target is compared with early Bitcoin.
How many guesses a miner can try per second.
A weaker proof accepted by a pool to show your miner is doing work.
A pool that gives you real block work, but only pays if your worker finds the block.
A special mining machine built only to hash Bitcoin extremely fast.
Historical mining replay
Time Machine
Let your CPU mine against an old Bitcoin target. Real pace shows what your PC would do; quick replay starts close to the historical win so beginners can see a block happen.
ready to load
idle
Historical difficulty --
Hashrate 0 H/s
Hashes tried 0
Best hash
--Winning hash
--Quick replay is for learning. Real pace is the honest simulation and may take a long time.
One hash at a time
Manual nonce lab
This is the slow-motion view of mining. Pick one old block and one nonce, then watch the app build the header, hash it, and compare the result with the target.
The app fetches real historical block data, including the target that miners had to beat.
The nonce is the guess. Changing it changes the hash completely.
If the final hash is below the target, that nonce is a valid proof-of-work.
block not loaded
waiting
Serialized 80-byte header
load a block to beginSHA-256 pass 1
--SHA-256 pass 2
--Target
--Local milestones
Achievements
Small milestones for learning, experimenting, and keeping the lottery miner playful. They are stored only in this browser.
Achievement list
Connection settings
Settings
Pool connection details and your local worker name.