This year has shown how solo miners can still hit the lottery in solving a Bitcoin (BTC) block and walking away with a hefty reward.
This year has shown how solo miners can still hit the lottery in solving a Bitcoin (BTC) block and walking away with a hefty reward.
For PepeNode (PEPENODE) and those buying in early, however, the real story could unfold in 2026 as the inevitable year that virtual mining becomes the next big trend in crypto.
PepeNode is the first meme coin virtual mining project, which transforms the act of mining from an energy-hungry, capital-intensive grind into a strategic, gamified way to earn cryptocurrency.
Instead of competing with industrial-scale rigs, investors can build virtual mining setups and collect top meme coins like Pepe (PEPE) and Fartcoin (FARTCOIN).
Now in its current presale stage, the project has already raised $1.5 million and that total continues to climb even before it completes its first month.
Right now, tokens are priced at $0.0010788, but that rate only lasts for the next 28 hours before the price moves up in the following round.
From Solo Mining’s Year to Virtual Mining’s Era
In 2025, about five solo miners managed to strike “digital gold” in Bitcoin mining. The first was on February 10, when an independent miner solved block 883,181 and walked away with roughly $300,000 worth of BTC for a reward of 3.15 BTC including fees.
The next came on July 4, with another solo miner landing block 903,883 and earning nearly $350,000 for a payout of 3.17 BTC. Just weeks later, on July 26, block 907,283 rewarded its lucky solver with 3.125 BTC, valued at more than $372,000.
The two most recent jackpots happened back-to-back: August 17, block 910,440, with about $373,000 in rewards; and September 8, block 913,632, worth approximately $348,000.
Source: BTCScan
These rare wins came despite mining difficulty hitting all-time highs. And with a full quarter still left in the year, more solo miners could yet add their names to the list – making 2025 a year that may well be remembered as the year of solo miners.
But there’s an elephant in the room and that is that Bitcoin mining remains brutally difficult to survive as an individual operator. Sure, one lucky block could hand you a third of a million dollars at the prices right now, but the ongoing costs of maintaining operations are enormous.
Estimates show that optimized setups still spend between $34,176 and $51,264 to mine a single BTC at power rates of $0.04–$0.06/kWh in the US. Few solo miners can sustain that and even alternatives like cloud mining companies come with outsized risks of scams and pyramid schemes.
This is why PepeNode’s early adopters see virtual mining as crypto’s next frontier in 2026, with the potential to be even bigger than the play-to-earn (P2E) boom.
Could Mine-to-Earn Replace P2E?
PepeNode is reshaping the mining dynamic by making it less capital-intensive and more accessible to everyday crypto users.
All mining activity happens virtually: players build their own server rooms, add nodes, and generate crypto along the way.
Its appeal lies in gamified mining, where players must think strategically to maximize rewards. Combining the right nodes and refining setups leads to bigger crypto payouts. The better the facility, the greater the chance to score not just the native PEPENODE token but also bonus meme coins like PEPE and FARTCOIN – and potentially other big-name tokens.
In many ways, this recalls the early rise of P2E games such as Axie Infinity and StepN. Those projects quickly reached massive heights and remain widely recognized even after their token valuations cooled.
Where PepeNode aims to stand apart among these games is in sustainability.
Its mine-to-earn model is built on deflationary tokenomics in that every time players upgrade their virtual facilities, 70% of the PEPENODE spent is permanently burned. Over time, as adoption grows, this mechanism can push the token’s value higher while keeping the ecosystem healthy.
By making mining both strategic and gamified, PepeNode carries the play-to-earn model into a new dimension – a mine-to-earn evolution with the potential to spark the next seismic shift in crypto.
What’s Fueling $1.5M in PEPENODE Token Sales
The PEPENODE token sits at the intersection of utility and meme culture.
On one hand, it carries the frog-themed appeal that has become a staple in the crypto space, a subsector now worth more than $5.11 billion on its own.
On the other, it powers this new game so that users can generate even bigger meme coins.
What separates PEPENODE from other meme coins is this dual role – memetic strength combined with real utility.
Layered on top of that is the deflationary model mentioned earlier, where every upgrade burns a huge chunk of the tokens used, creating long-term scarcity. Together, these features give it a strong case for high valuation.
It’s no surprise then that popular influencer Nazza Crypto has called PEPENODE the next potential 100x meme coin, a view echoed by fellow creator Crypto Tech Gaming.
Get In on the PepeNode Presale
PepeNode is closing in on the $2 million milestone, which could be reached before the week is out.
To join, head to the PepeNode official site and secure tokens using ETH, BNB, USDT (ERC-20 and BEP-20), and even credit or debit cards.
Buyers can connect via Best Wallet, widely rated as one of the best crypto and Bitcoin wallets.
PepeNode is listed on Best Wallet’s new project screening tool, Upcoming Tokens, so you can buy, track and claim once the project is live.
The project’s smart contract has been audited by Coinsult, giving early adopters peace of mind about the security of its code.
Follow the project on X and Telegram for the latest updates.
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