Bitaxe miner guide: what a Bitaxe is, how it works and which one suits you

A Bitaxe is a small open-source Bitcoin miner for the home. Its board carries a Bitmain ASIC, the same type of chip as in large industrial miners, controlled by an ESP32-S3 running the AxeOS firmware. The Bitaxe Gamma computes around 1.1 TH/s at about 17 W, connects to a pool over Wi-Fi and can find an entire block solo.

Skot started the project in 2022 as open hardware on GitHub: a single ASIC, the kind a Bitmain Antminer carries in large numbers, gets its own open board plus open firmware. The first Bitaxe Max with the BM1397 has since grown into several series; today’s widespread Gamma with the BM1370 arrived in 2024. An Antminer S21 Pro uses the same chip type, just many of them on three hashboards, and draws several kilowatts. A Bitaxe carries one chip and needs a free spot on a shelf. The computing work is the same: SHA-256 hashes on a block template.

So the Bitaxe is not a toy but a full miner with the hashrate of one chip. Every hash it computes has the same chance of a block as every hash from a farm. What differs is the number: a Gamma computes around 1.07 trillion hashes per second at factory settings, the network around 920 quintillion. Where to buy one and what to check is in Buy a Bitaxe.

• The ASIC (BM1370) is a chip that can do nothing but compute SHA-256, on the Gamma at a factory clock of 525 MHz around 1.07 trillion times per second. In the Nerdaxe Gaia it is the newer BM1373 (2.4 to 2.8 TH/s at 26 to 31 W), in the Bitaxe 702 six older BM1368.
• The ESP32-S3 is the microcontroller next to it: it connects over 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, fetches the block template from the pool, hands it to the ASIC, collects the results, controls fan and voltage and serves the web interface.
• AxeOS is that web interface (firmware ESP-Miner, open source on GitHub, currently version 2.15.3). You open the miner’s IP in the browser, since 2.15 also its hostname such as http://bitaxe.local, and see hashrate, temperature, shares and best difficulty; on the Pool page you enter pool and Bitcoin address. No account, no app, no manufacturer server. The Nerd devices run NerdOS, a branch of the same firmware.
• The voltage regulator turns 5 V (on the Gamma) into around 1.15 V for the ASIC. It is the component that reaches its limit first when overclocking, not the chip.
• Fan and heatsink keep the ASIC cool; by default AxeOS targets 60 °C. From 70 °C the dashboard warns, and above 75 °C at the chip or 105 °C at the voltage regulator AxeOS stops mining and restarts at 100 MHz and 100 mV less. From four chips (NerdQaxe) it becomes a 92 mm fan or water.

The sequence in operation: the pool sends a block template, the ASIC tries nonces, every hash below the pool difficulty goes back as a share, as proof that the miner is working, and a hash below the network difficulty is a block. On average every ten minutes somebody in the world finds one, and the game starts again. What that means for your chance is worked out in Finding a block with a Bitaxe.

The Bitaxe family ranges from one chip to eight. Nerdaxe, NerdQaxe and NerdOctaxe are open developments on the same basis, with their own boards, a large display and the NerdOS firmware. The figures are guide values from firmware, measurements and manufacturer data:

For a first miner the Gamma is the right choice: quiet enough for the living room, about €3.70 of electricity a month, set up in ten minutes. The Nerdaxe Gamma is the same class with a large display, the Gaia the most efficient variant (around 11 to 12.5 J/TH). If you want more chance, take the NerdQaxe++ with a good four times the hashrate. The detailed comparison is in Bitaxe or Nerdaxe, all devices with prices and availability in the miner comparison.

The number after the name gives series and board revision: 601, 602 and 603 are Gamma revisions with the same chip and the same factory values, 801 is the Gamma Turbo (GT), 702 the Supra Hex. An overview of all boards is in Buy a Bitaxe.

1. Plug in the power supply (5 V / 6 A on the Gamma, included). Display and fan start within a few seconds.
2. With your phone, join the open Wi-Fi Bitaxe_XXXX. The setup page usually opens by itself; otherwise open http://192.168.4.1. Enter only the hostname, Wi-Fi name and password of your 2.4 GHz network, save and restart. The miner then shows its IP on the display.
3. Open the IP in the browser; since AxeOS 2.15 the hostname works too, for example http://bitaxe.local. Choose Pool in the menu on the left and enter: Stratum Host stratum.bitaxe.de, Stratum Port 3333, User = your Bitcoin address, Password x. If you want encrypted mining, set Stratum Protocol to Stratum V2 with port 3336. The pool configurator provides the values ready to copy.
4. Save and restart. After one to two minutes the shares rise and the ASIC temperature settles at the target temperature. Done.

The guide with pictures: Bitaxe setup, the Gamma in detail in Setting up the Bitaxe Gamma 601, and for the Nerd devices running NerdOS Nerdaxe and NerdQaxe. If something does not work, the troubleshooter gets you to the cause in a few clicks. What every readout in AxeOS means is in AxeOS explained, and what the “Error” value on the hashrate card tells you is in The hashrate error explained.

The current release is AxeOS 2.15.3 from 20 September 2026, and NerdOS 1.1.0.1 for the Nerd devices. The easiest way to update is flasher.bitaxe.de in the browser over a USB cable. OSM-OS, our optimised builds and our recommendation, is preselected, and you can pick the originals at any time; with “Keep configuration” ticked, Wi-Fi, pool and address stay in place. Without a cable, use the Update page in AxeOS: since 2.15 the file esp-miner.bin is all you need, and under “Installed Firmware” the “Activate” button takes you back to the previous version. Every route is described in the update guide.

A Bitaxe can do both; solo is the sensible choice. In a regular pool a Gamma earns around 50 satoshis a day on average, just under 4 cents, less than its good 12 cents of electricity. In solo mode it instead plays in every draw for the entire block (3.125 BTC plus fees), with a chance of about 1 in 16,900 per year. Our solo pool pool.bitaxe.de charges no fee for that, pays a find straight to your address and supports Stratum V2. Background and figures: Solo mining.

For anyone who wants not just to hold Bitcoin but to understand it and take part: your own hashrate on the network, a device whose firmware you can read, a ticket in every draw, for about €3.70 of electricity a month. For tinkerers who want to overclock, swap coolers and connect the miner to their own node. And for beginners who want a working miner in ten minutes, without Linux and without a soldering iron.

It is not meant for anyone expecting a return: in expected value a Bitaxe earns less than it costs in electricity. If you want to make money with it you need a warehouse, not a desk. And it is not a black box: if you want a device you plug in and never look at again, the Avalon Nano 3S serves you better.

• Buy a Bitaxe: buying guide with every model, running costs and accessories
• Open-source Bitcoin mining: why open hardware and firmware matter
• Power supply for a Bitaxe: when the included one is enough and when it is not
• Overclocking guide: more hashrate, with measurements per model
• Power consumption: what each device costs per month
• Your own node: setting up Public Pool on Umbrel