Bitcoin mining as a hobby can be fun and even profitable if you have cheap electricity and get the best and most efficient Bitcoin mining hardware.
Having good mining machines and ASICs is the most important factor for profitability, besides electricity prices.
This post will explore the best mining hardware on the market and how to acquire them.
Key Takeaways| Miner | Hash Power | Price* | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Bitmain Antminer S19 XP | 140.0 TH/s | $3,000-4,000 USD |
 |
Whatsminer M53 | 230.0 TH/s | $3,000-6,000 USD |
 |
WhatsMiner M30S+ | 100.0 TH/s | $1,000-2,000 USD |
*buybitcoinworldwide.top averages prices from various online sources. Actual prices may vary depending on seller.
Since it鈥檚 now impossible to profitably mine Bitcoin with a standard computer or laptop, you鈥檒l need specialized hardware called ASICs.
Here鈥檚 what an ASIC miner looks like up close:
Originally, Bitcoin鈥檚 creator intended for Bitcoin to be mined on CPUs (like your laptop or desktop computer). However, Bitcoin miners discovered they could get more hashing power from graphic cards. Graphic cards were then surpassed by ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits).
Think of a Bitcoin ASIC as specialized Bitcoin mining computers, Bitcoin mining machines, or 鈥渂itcoin generators鈥.
Nowadays all serious Bitcoin mining is performed on dedicated Bitcoin mining hardware ASICs, usually in thermally-regulated data-centers with low-cost electricity.
鉃 MORE: Is bitcoin mining profitable in 2023?
You can use our calculator below to check the mining hardware above. Input your expected electricity price and the hash rate of the miner for an estimate.
Be sure to take electricity costs into account. Most mining hardware appears profitable until electricity costs are accounted for.
There are some important factors to look at when determining which Bitcoin mining ASIC to buy:
How many hashes per second can the Bitcoin miner make? More hashes cost more, which is why efficiency is crucial.
You鈥檒l want to buy the most efficient bitcoin mining hardware possible.
Right now, this is the Halong Mining Dragonmint T1. Since miners use a large amount of electricity, you want to buy one that converts the most amount of electricity into bitcoins.
How much does the bitcoin miner cost?
Cheap mining hardware will mine less bitcoins, which is why efficiency and electricity usage are important. The fastest and more efficient mining hardware is going to cost more.
Don鈥檛 try to buy a miner based on only price or only hash rate. The best ASIC miner is the most efficient bitcoin miner. Aim for value.
鉃 MORE: Bitcoin mining profit calculator
Ebang: From China, they make Ebit machines in various types and costs.
Innosilicon: They make machines for many different coins. The T2 and T3 are made especially for Bitcoin.
Bitmain: Bitmain makes top-notch Bitcoin machines called Antminers. Almost all professional miners use Antminers.
MicroBT: Bitmain鈥檚 largest competitor. Their Whatsminer machines are famous for working well and efficiently.
Canaan Creative: One of the first to make Bitcoin machines, they created the AvalonMiner series.
鉃 MORE: Bitcoin mining pools & sites
In addition to a Bitcoin mining ASIC, you鈥檒l need some other Bitcoin mining equipment:
Power supply 鈥 Bitcoin rigs need special power supplies to funnel and use electricity efficiently.
Cooling fans 鈥 Bitcoin hardware can easily overheat and stop working. Buy a sufficient amount of cooling fans to keep your hardware working.
Backup generators 鈥 You may want generators as a backup in case your main source of electricity goes down.
Temperature monitor 鈥 Required to track hardware heat levels, prevent overheating, maintain optimal performance, and safeguard the longevity of the equipment.
Liquid cooling system 鈥 Can be used to efficiently dissipate heat, ensuring stable hardware operation, maximizing performance, and preventing thermal-related damages.
Air conditioning 鈥 May be needed to regulate temperature, preventing hardware overheating, ensuring optimal performance, and extending the lifespan of mining equipment.
Solar panels 鈥 Solar panels could potentially be used to harness renewable energy, reducing electricity costs, enhancing profitability, and promoting environmentally conscious mining practices depending on your location.
Direct grid connection 鈥 May ensure consistent, uninterrupted power supply, maximizing uptime and optimizing potential mining rewards and efficiency. Some miners are also able to sell energy back to the grid at peaks times, which can be even more profitable than mining itself.
Air filtration 鈥 You鈥檒l likely need to have workers in your mining hardware building. Ensuring they have clean air to breath will ensure safe working conditions.
Ethernet cables - May be needed for stable, direct internet connections, reducing latency and potential disruptions, ensuring efficient and uninterrupted mining operations.
Routers - A good router is needed to maintain stable connections, minimizing downtime, ensuring consistent mining, and avoiding potential lost rewards.
Fast internet - Needed to quickly receive and validate transaction data, ensuring timely participation in block creation and maximizing potential mining rewards.
As you can see, mining is a serious operation.
On top of equipment, running a secure operation is also crucial.
For example, 100 miners were stolen in Pennsylvania:
Around 100 Bitcoin mining computers were stolen from a warehouse in Somerset County, state police said. Someone broke into a warehouse on South Center Avenue in Somerset Township around 10 a.m. on Nov. 16, Pennsylvania State Police said in a news release. Police said the suspect took an estimated 100 Bitcoin mining computers and electrical breakers, copper wiring and outlet power strips.
Most mining operations today have secure fences, security cameras, and 24/7 staff on-hand in order to ensure everything is running properly.
Hashrate pertains to the computational power of Bitcoin mining hardware.
Expressed in hashes per second, it denotes how many calculations a miner can execute each second.
A superior hashrate increases the likelihood of solving Bitcoin鈥檚 cryptographic puzzles, which is fundamental for validating transactions and securing block rewards. For Bitcoin miners, optimizing hashrate is vital since it directly affects potential earnings.
However, it鈥檚 essential to balance hashrate with energy use to guarantee profitable mining.
Power consumption of a Bitcoin mining ASIC refers to the amount of electrical energy the device uses to operate.
Expressed in watts, this metric is crucial for miners because electricity costs can significantly impact profitability.
A high-performing ASIC with excessive power consumption might yield less profit than a lower-performing, energy-efficient one, especially in regions with high electricity rates. Thus, balancing hashrate with energy efficiency is key for sustainable and profitable Bitcoin mining.
The algorithm of a Bitcoin mining ASIC refers to the specific computational procedure it鈥檚 designed to execute.
Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies rely on the SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm 256-bit) for transaction verification.
ASICs tailored for Bitcoin are optimized to perform SHA-256 calculations rapidly and efficiently. This specificity makes them more effective for Bitcoin mining than general-purpose computational devices. The choice of algorithm directly affects an ASIC鈥檚 compatibility and performance with particular cryptocurrencies.
It鈥檚 still technically possible to mine bitcoins without dedicated mining hardware.
However, you鈥檒l earn less than one penny per month. Mining bitcoins on your computer will do more damage to your computer and won鈥檛 earn a profit.
So, it鈥檚 not worth it unless you鈥檙e just interested to see how the mining process works. You鈥檙e best bet is to buy dedicated hardware.
The price of mining ASICs will depend on many factors.
The price of Bitcoin is one of the main factors. As Bitcoin鈥檚 price rises, miners become more profitable. This will create more demand for miners, and push the prices of machines higher.
Scarcity is another issue. There are only 4-6 main makers of mining machines. When new miners come out, they usually sell out instantly. This creates the need to buy miners indirectly, which creates higher prices.
Like most technology, mining hardware will likely continue to get more powerful and efficient at the same time.
The main issue with ASICs will likely always remain the same:
The ability to get ASICs in bulk at a good price.
BuyBitcoinWorldwide is dedicated to providing readers with detailed and comprehensive reviews. To list the mining hardware on this page, we examined each hardware鈥檚 hash rate, efficiency, manufacturer and more.
To create this article, we had discussions with some of the top miners in the Bitcoin industry. We researched the top miners, equipment, and factors that are affecting miners today.
