Avalon Nano 3s | 6 TH/s

The Avalon Nano 3S comes from Canaan and is not an open board but a self-contained appliance: case, cooling, fan control and firmware are tuned at the factory, and the power supply is included. Inside, twelve Canaan ASICs built on a 4 nm process work at a combined 6 TH/s and 140 W – 23.3 J/TH. It joins the network over 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi or – unlike the small miner boards – by cable through an RJ45 socket.

Depending on the operating state the noise level sits at 33 dB to 38 dB: a steady sound that stays present in a study and would be disruptive in a bedroom at night. Electricity adds up to 101 kWh a month, so about €28.20 a month at €0.28/kWh, or 94 cents a day. Those 140 W leave the device almost entirely as heat: in winter the Nano 3S noticeably warms a small room, in high summer that argues against running it in the same room.

A finished appliance can solo mine too, and then the same arithmetic applies as for any other machine: 6 TH/s is six trillion attempts per second at the next block, each one a ticket. If one hits, 3.125 BTC of block reward and all fees from the transactions in that block go undivided to your address. The only certain part is the cost side at about €28.20 of electricity a month; the rest is probability, and the hash rate helps secure the network in the meantime. The process is explained in our solo mining guide.

• Nothing to assemble: unpack, plug in, enter the pool. Thermal paste, heatsink choice and fan curves are not topics here.
• Cable instead of radio, when needed: besides 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi there is an RJ45 socket. Where Wi-Fi is weak in a basement, that decides whether operation stays stable.
• Predictable noise level: 33 to 38 dB depending on the operating state – you know what you are getting before buying.
• Closed case: no exposed board, no open cooling fins – an advantage in an office or around children and pets.

The Nano 3S is deliberately not a device to build on. Firmware and control come from Canaan, frequency and voltage are not freely accessible, and the case does not allow for a cooler swap. In exchange, very little can go wrong in operation.

You pay for that in efficiency: 23.3 J/TH means every terahash costs more electricity than on current BM1370 boards at roughly 15 to 16 J/TH – the Bitaxe 702 delivers around 4.2 TH/s at roughly 90 W. How the models differ otherwise is shown in the overview buy a Bitcoin miner.

You need a socket, a network connection by Wi-Fi or cable, and a browser on the same network. No extra computer and no mining software required.

For everyone who wants to mine Bitcoin at home without working through firmware, cooling concepts and fan curves. Customers describe it as a device for the study that simply runs after setup. If a cable connection matters to you, the RJ45 socket is an argument open boards do not offer.

It is less suitable if you want to work on frequency, voltage and firmware yourself – the system is too closed for that. It does not fit a bedroom either: 33 to 38 dB are noticeable around the clock. And if power draw and waste heat should stay small, the Bitaxe Gamma at roughly 15 W and about €3 of electricity a month is the more appropriate size.

The box contains the Avalon Nano 3S, the power supply and a quick start guide. Beyond that you need a socket, network access, pool credentials and your own Bitcoin address.

More important than any accessory is the location: free air intake, a room where 140 W of extra heat does not bother anyone in summer either, and a stable network within reach.

There is deliberately little to extend on the device itself – the sensible next steps are next to it.

• Bitcoin nodes if you want to build your block templates yourself instead of trusting a pool.
• Bitaxe miners as an open complement to the finished appliance, when you also want something to tinker with.

The Avalon Nano 3S is the uncomplicated option: a closed device with 6 TH/s, an Ethernet port if you want one, a published noise level and about €28.20 of electricity a month. If you want mining at home without turning it into a project, this is the right place.