A small Texas mining {hardware} firm is releasing what it says is probably the most highly effective open-source touchscreen bitcoin miner at the moment out there to home users.
Houston-based Solo Satoshi introduced the launch of the Bitaxe Turbo Contact, a compact gadget designed for hobbyists and home miners that delivers greater than double the hashrate of different touchscreen miners in its class.
In keeping with a be aware shared with Bitcoin Journal, the unit produces about 2.15 terahashes per second (TH/s).
The product builds on the open-source Bitaxe GT 801 platform and is powered by twin BM1370 ASIC chips, the identical chips used within the industrial-scale Bitmain Antminer S21 Professional. The chips permit the gadget to realize effectivity of roughly 18 joules per terahash, in keeping with the corporate. Throughout testing, the gadget reportedly reached over 3 TH/s when overclocked.
The miner features a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen that shows real-time community and mining information. Eight rotating shows present metrics resembling hashrate efficiency, bitcoin value, present block top and just lately mined blocks.
Community data is pulled from mempool.area, a broadly used blockchain information explorer.
Matt Howard, founder and chief government of Solo Satoshi, stated the corporate prioritized transparency when constructing the gadget.
“We constructed this as a result of we imagine the instruments folks use to work together with Bitcoin ought to be absolutely verifiable,” Howard stated in an announcement. “Each line of code between the ASIC chips and the pixels on the touchscreen is open supply.”
Open supply bitcoin mining
The miner runs two open-source firmware layers: AxeOS, which manages the mining operations, and BAP‑GT‑TOUCH, which powers the touchscreen interface. Each software program repositories, together with {hardware} schematics and board layouts, are publicly out there underneath an open {hardware} license.
The gadget consumes about 43 watts of energy and produces roughly 35 decibels of noise, putting it nearer to the sound degree of a quiet room than conventional industrial mining rigs. At typical U.S. residential electrical energy charges, Solo Satoshi estimates the miner would price about $3.70 monthly to function.
The Bitaxe Turbo Contact connects via a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi module utilizing an ESP32-S3 microcontroller, and configuration is dealt with via a browser-based dashboard. Every unit is assembled in america and examined for hashing efficiency earlier than delivery, the corporate stated.
Solo Satoshi is positioning the gadget towards different compact touchscreen miners such because the Braiins BMM 101. The corporate says its mannequin delivers considerably decrease price per terahash — about $151 per TH in contrast with roughly $299 per TH for the Braiins gadget.
The launch additionally highlights a rising area of interest inside the bitcoin mining business targeted on open-source {hardware}. Whereas most massive mining operations depend on proprietary tools from main producers, smaller builders and hobbyist communities have pushed for clear designs that may be modified and audited.
Solo Satoshi stated it labored with the Open Supply Miners United neighborhood to develop elements of the gadget, together with an adjunct communication protocol that permits builders to construct extra shows and {hardware} integrations.
The corporate traces its involvement in touchscreen miners to late 2024, when it collaborated on the early idea of the Bitaxe Contact. When later variations of the gadget shipped with closed-source firmware, Solo Satoshi determined to create its personal absolutely open-source various.
In keeping with the corporate, open-source bitcoin miners have collectively produced greater than $1 million in verifiable block rewards, together with a number of broadly publicized solo mining successes lately.
