Key facts: A mini miner has, at most, a hash rate of 1 TH/s. The die is cast for those who mine Bitcon with one of these mini devices. Bitcoin mini miners, devices smaller than a laptop used to process the network of the largest digital asset in the world, have made a space for themselves in the market, especially among bitcoiners who defend decentralization. Although these devices were first launched in 2023, they are currently experiencing the greatest growth in the market. It is planned to sell at least 1 million Bitaxe equipment in El Salvador, as an alternative to educate and promote decentralized mining in the Central American country. This company launched the 0.5 TH/s Bitaxe Ultra mini miner in August 2023. This ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) for Bitcoin mining is based on the BM1397 model of the S19XP series from the Chinese manufacturer Bitmain. But that's not the only mini ASIC from that company. They also have the Bitaxe Supra, 750 GH/s, which is being sold at The Bitcoin Hardware Store, which is located in the citadels of Bitcoin Beach and Bitcoin Berlin, in El Salvador, the first country to give it legal tender. to BTC. As explained by Ronny Avendaño, CEO of that commercial store, these equipment, which can be held with one hand, seek to help decentralize Bitcoin mining from El Salvador. This, remembering that the activity is largely controlled by mining pools. Bitaxe mini miners cannot join the Bitcoin mining pools that are currently active, since they do not have the protocol required to join these pools, Stratum V2. Hence the narrative of fighting centralization in the industry. In addition to the Bitaxe mini ASICs, the arrival of the miniature miner manufactured by the Braiins company was also known. This company announced its BMM 100 equipment, which has a hashrate of 1 TH/s and an electrical consumption of 40 watts. As the company itself explains, with these devices bitcoiners can become “commoner miners”, without worrying about paying high electricity rates. Unlike Bitaxe miners, this mini ASIC can join Bitcoin mining pools because they come with the Stratum V2 protocol, as reported by BitcoinDynamic.
How many miners are needed?
With the arrival of these mini ASIC miners on the market, the question also comes: How many mini Bitcoin miners do you need to mine a block? This mystery responds to the fact that mini miners, who can contribute at most 1 TH/s to the Bitcoin network, have penetrated a market controlled by large manufacturing companies, such as Bitmain or Canaan, which are launching ASIC equipment with up to 250 TH/s. These are state-of-the-art machines, which have the required implements to guarantee profitability when mining. This is because, in general, the more mining power an ASIC has, the the more opportunities there are to mine a Bitcoin block. This is because hashrate, or hash power, is the main factor that determines the probability of a miner successfully solving the complex mathematical problem necessary to find a new block and obtain the reward. An ASIC with a higher hashrate has more computing power and therefore can make more attempts per second to solve the math problem. This means it has a better chance of finding a block and getting the reward than an ASIC with a lower hashrate. Now, in the current conditions of mining difficulty and enormous competition, it is not feasible for operators to carry out their digital activity alone. For what they have preferred for years contribute your hashrate to a Bitcoin mining pool and thus have more opportunities to be rewarded for your proof of work. Although of course, divided. These pools, including Foundry USA, AntPool, ViaBTC, F2Pool, Spider Pool and Luxor; They are mining groups with a significant concentration of hashrate, with more than 500 EH/s between all of themas shown by Braiins:
It does not matter how many mini Bitcoin miners are available. Source: Brains. A situation that leads to the centralization of mining activity. Something that just They come to combat the small and compact Bitcoin miners that are flooding the market. In that sense, and responding to the unknown, it does not matter the number of mini Bitcoin miners that are available, since mining in itself is a lottery and it is possible that with one of these miniature devices a block is mined and a reward is obtained of more than USD 200,000, based on the current price of bitcoin (BTC). Although it is true that the ASIC hashrate is the main factor that determines the probability that a miner will solve the mathematical problem to find a new block and obtain the reward, it must be taken into account that Bitcoin mining is a probabilistic process.
That is, it is a lottery that is drawn every 10 minutes on average and that can be considered a winner to any bitcoiner who has bought a mini ASIC for USD 200 and have it plugged in next to your computer. Alejandro Quiles, Venezuelan Bitcoin miner and director of the Grupo Tools Caracas company, explained to BitcoinDynamic that There are chances (although low) of mining a block with these devices. He does not skimp on it, since he remembers that on more than one occasion solitary miners with low hashrate have managed to decipher the mathematical problem and have earned large rewards. “Getting a block is like luck. There are some devices that are not even 1 TH/s. Some say they work, others the opposite. For me, with these mini teams you can work for a pool, where the profit is distributed among all the miners that are involved. Or work alone with the hashrate you want and try your luck,” said Quiles. This coincides with what was said by Ronny Avendaño, from The Bitcoin Hardware Store, for whom mini Bitcoin miners are nothing more than a lottery ticket that is drawn every 10 minutes, as well as devices that limit the centralization that looms over the industry.