Home Bitcoin miner: NerdMiner V2, Bitaxe, or NerdQaxe++

On July 10, 2026, a compact Bitaxe found Bitcoin block 957382 through Public Pool. The miner averaged about 995 GH/s and had been running for roughly eight hours before producing the winning hash, earning 3.13823506 BTC including transaction fees.

Stories like this can make a home Bitcoin miner sound like an easy way to make money. In reality, this was an exceptionally rare event. In this article, we compare NerdMiner V2, Bitaxe Gamma 601, and NerdQaxe++ to see what they can actually do, how much power they use, and when solo mining at home makes sense.

How a home Bitcoin miner works

A Bitcoin miner repeatedly hashes a candidate block header using SHA-256d. It changes the nonce and other variable data until it produces a hash that meets the network target. The higher the hashrate, the more attempts the device can make every second.

Each hash is an independent attempt. A miner does not build up “progress” toward a block, so months without a hit do not make the next hash any more likely to succeed. That is why a compact ASIC might find a block within hours—or run for its entire useful life without finding one.

Solo mining or a pool?

With solo mining, your miner is working for the full block reward. If your device finds the valid hash, you receive the 3.125 BTC block subsidy plus transaction fees, minus any fee charged by the solo-mining service.

In a regular mining pool, your hashrate is combined with that of other miners, and payouts are based on accepted shares and the pool’s payout model. For a small home miner, this produces far more consistent results. Before fees, the expected value for the same hashrate is broadly similar; what changes is the distribution of outcomes: a tiny chance of a large payout versus smaller, more regular payments.

Power use and expected returns

To compare each home Bitcoin miner on the same basis, we use a network difficulty of 127.45 T and a 3.125 BTC block subsidy. The table shows the approximate average time to find a block and the expected daily subsidy, excluding transaction fees, pool fees, and downtime. Electricity costs are calculated at a residential rate of 4.32 UAH/kWh, which was in effect when these estimates were made.

* NerdMiner V2 hashrate varies significantly by ESP32 board and firmware version; this table uses 250 kH/s as a reference point for modern ESP32-S3 builds.

For Bitaxe Gamma 601, that works out to roughly a 1 in 14,455 chance of finding at least one block in a year of continuous operation. For NerdQaxe++ at 4.8 TH/s, the figure is about 1 in 3,614. In a standard pool, the same devices earn much smaller but more regular payouts.

NerdMiner V2: mining as a learning experiment

As a home Bitcoin miner, NerdMiner V2 is unusual: it performs real Bitcoin hashing and can connect to a compatible Stratum server. Typical builds use an ESP32-S3 without a dedicated mining ASIC; current firmware can use the ESP32-S3’s built-in SHA-256 hardware acceleration. For our calculations, we use about 250 kH/s as a reference, though actual performance depends on the board, firmware, and operating mode.

At that speed, the average time to find a block is still measured in tens of billions of years. The chance is not literally zero, but it has no practical economic value. NerdMiner is much more useful as a learning device and live network-statistics display: you can see Stratum in action, watch mining data update, and experiment with almost no power draw.

Pool compatibility also matters. Because NerdMiner submits extremely low-difficulty shares, not every standard pool server will accept them. Check the list of compatible options for your firmware before setting it up.

Bitaxe Gamma 601: a compact ASIC for home use

Bitaxe Gamma 601 is a real ASIC miner. It uses one BM1370, runs at roughly 1.2 TH/s, and draws about 18 W at typical settings. It does not need a dedicated computer to keep running: the controller connects over Wi-Fi, and AxeOS is available through a browser on your local network.

For a home Bitcoin miner, 18 W is a modest power draw, but active cooling is still required. Noise depends on the fan and the specific build, so it is better to think of Bitaxe as a small desktop ASIC rather than a silent gadget.

Why block 957382 matters

On July 10, 2026, a Bitaxe connected to Public Pool found block 957382. The total reward was 3.13823506 BTC, and the miner’s published average hashrate was about 995.2 GH/s.

The event proves that a small ASIC really can find a full Bitcoin block. But the roughly eight hours it had been running before the hit were pure luck and say nothing about a typical waiting time. For a Gamma 601, the statistical average is measured in thousands of years.

NerdQaxe++: more hashrate in a desktop-sized miner

NerdQaxe++ uses four BM1370 chips and delivers about 4.8–4.9 TH/s while drawing roughly 75–80 W. This is a noticeably more capable home ASIC: its solo-mining odds are about four times better than a 1.2 TH/s Bitaxe, but the average time to find a block is still around 3,614 years.

In an apartment, the biggest differences are heat and fan noise. At 75–80 W, the device puts out noticeable heat and remains audible in a quiet room. For 24/7 operation, place it somewhere with good airflow.

If your goal is solo mining, NerdQaxe++ gives you more attempts in the same amount of time. If you want regular payouts, it makes more sense to evaluate it as a pool miner and measure its actual wall-power draw.

Which mining pool should you choose?

If you are choosing a home Bitcoin miner, start by deciding what kind of outcome you want. For small miners, that matters more than comparing a long list of services.

• Regular payouts. Choose a standard shared pool and compare fees, payout method, minimum payout threshold, and withdrawal options.
• A chance at the full block reward. Use a solo pool such as Public Pool or solo.ckpool.org, where a block found by your miner is not split among participants in a regular shared pool.
• NerdMiner V2. Make sure the server accepts very low-difficulty shares; not every standard pool works properly with such a low hashrate.

In AxeOS, it is worth configuring a fallback pool from the start and testing the failover before leaving the miner unattended. Also verify the payout address before you begin. For solo mining, use an address from your own non-custodial Bitcoin wallet rather than an exchange deposit address.

What to consider before running one at home

• Electricity. At 4.32 UAH/kWh, an 18 W Bitaxe costs about 1.87 UAH per day to run, while a 75–80 W NerdQaxe++ costs about 7.78–8.29 UAH. For a realistic estimate, measure power draw at the wall with a wattmeter.
• Cooling and placement. Even a compact ASIC runs under continuous load. Do not block airflow, and avoid surfaces that can be damaged by heat.
• Power outages. Downtime simply means fewer hashes. If you provide backup power for the miner, remember that the router and internet connection also need to stay online.
• Wi-Fi. Bitaxe and typical ESP32-based boards use 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, so make sure that band is available on your router.
• Wallet. Prepare a receiving address in advance and make sure your seed phrase is backed up securely. This matters even more for solo mining: if you do hit a block, access to the reward depends on your wallet.

Which home Bitcoin miner should you choose: NerdMiner, Bitaxe, or NerdQaxe++?

• NerdMiner V2 — best for learning how mining, Stratum, and Bitcoin network statistics work while using very little power.
• Bitaxe Gamma 601 — a good fit if you want a real ASIC in a compact format, low power consumption, and a genuine solo-mining experiment.
• NerdQaxe++ — the option for higher hashrate if you are comfortable with more heat, fan noise, and power consumption.

If your only goal is to maximize the amount of BTC you get for a fixed budget, compare the full cost of the miner and electricity with simply buying Bitcoin for the same amount. Home mining makes more sense when you also value the process itself, your own infrastructure, hands-on learning, or the solo-mining experience.

Bottom line

A home Bitcoin miner is not a predictable way to make money. NerdMiner V2 is primarily a learning device, while Bitaxe Gamma 601 and NerdQaxe++ are real ASIC miners with very small—but genuine—odds of finding a block while solo mining.

That is what makes home mining interesting: you can run a real Bitcoin miner at home, see Proof of Work in action, connect to a pool or your own infrastructure, and decide for yourself whether you value small regular payouts or a very small chance at the full block reward.