Someone reported a single laptop was capable of mining 50 BTC in under 24 hours

On February 3, 2010, the Bitcoin network was still in its infancy, and the difficulty level of mining was relatively low compared to today’s standards. At that time, it was possible for an individual with a standard laptop to mine as much as 50 BTC in under 24 hours. This was because the network hash rate — the total computing power of all miners — was much lower, making it easier for individual miners to solve the cryptographic puzzles required to mine new blocks and earn block rewards.
 

The block reward back then was 50 BTC, and with fewer miners on the network, the chances of successfully mining a block were significantly higher for each participant. This level of accessibility allowed early adopters and enthusiasts to accumulate Bitcoin, contributing to the decentralized nature of the network.
 

However, as more people became interested in Bitcoin and joined the mining process, the difficulty increased, necessitating more powerful and specialized hardware to maintain profitability. This led to the development and adoption of more advanced mining technologies, such as ASIC miners, which are specifically designed for bitcoin mining and are much more efficient than general-purpose computers like laptops.