NerdMiner vs Bitaxe: odds, cost and which to buy

Side by side

Specs vary by model and tuning. Figures use a network near 966 EH/s. Try your own numbers in the Bitcoin lottery miner odds calculator.

Why the gap is so large

A NerdMiner uses a general-purpose chip to compute Bitcoin hashes in software, which is extremely inefficient. A Bitaxe uses a chip designed to do nothing but Bitcoin hashing, the same type of ASIC used in industrial miners, just in much smaller numbers. That is why a device drawing about 15 watts is about 20,000 times faster than one drawing about 1 watt. Odds scale with hashrate, so the Bitaxe's chance per day is about 20,000 times better.

Expected value for each

At current prices, a block is worth roughly $275,000. A Bitaxe at 1.2 TH/s has an expected income of about $18 a year, against electricity of about $24, so a small average loss before the purchase price. A NerdMiner's expected income is a tiny fraction of a cent a year. Neither is a money-maker. Both are lottery tickets, and the Bitaxe is a better ticket by orders of magnitude.

Which should you buy?

• If you want a real shot, however long, and you accept the cost: a Bitaxe.
• If you want to learn how mining works, tinker with firmware and spend almost nothing: a NerdMiner.
• If you want to make money: neither. Buying bitcoin directly is simpler, with its own risks.

Setup basics

1. 1Buy from the maker or an authorised seller. Beware of clones.
2. 2Connect to your Wi-Fi following the maker's instructions.
3. 3Choose a solo mining pool and enter your own Bitcoin address as the user name.
4. 4Watch temperatures and keep ventilation clear.
5. 5Do not share your recovery phrase. Mining needs only an address.

What owners say

Hobbyists commonly describe NerdMiner devices as a fun weekend project and a conversation piece, and Bitaxe devices as the "real" lottery ticket with a realistic, if tiny, chance. Community forums and the open-source projects behind both devices are friendly places to ask questions. Opinions on value vary, but almost everyone agrees on the maths: neither is an income source.

Example: a year with each device

A NerdMiner running for a year uses about 9 kWh, costing about $1.30, and has roughly a 3 in a trillion chance of finding a block. A Bitaxe running for a year uses about 158 kWh, costing about $24, with roughly a 0.007% chance per year (about 1 in 15,000) of finding a block. Over ten years the Bitaxe owner has about a 0.07% chance of one block worth about $278,000 at current prices, an expected value of about $180 against about $240 of electricity. The NerdMiner owner's expected value is negligible. The numbers explain why people call the Bitaxe a lottery ticket and the NerdMiner a toy.

Buying checklist

1. 1Buy from the maker or an authorised seller.
2. 2Check the power supply requirements and use a proper adapter.
3. 3Plan where it will sit so it gets airflow.
4. 4Decide your pool and write down your Bitcoin address before setup.
5. 5Set a reminder to check temperatures after the first day.