Bitcoin mining explained: from mini-miner to heater
How does mining work, what does it really earn at home, and which mini-miner suits you? A calm, honest guide — with current figures and no sales talk.
Earlier this year, 1 zettahash was reached for the first time — a milestone in network security.
How does Bitcoin mining work?
Mining is the process that records Bitcoin transactions in the blockchain. Specialised computers take part in a mathematical lottery: whoever first finds a valid hash gets to create the next block and receives the reward. This is called Proof-of-Work.
- 1Collect transactions
The miner bundles pending transactions into a candidate block.
- 2Solve the puzzle
The miner tries billions of numbers per second until a hash falls below the threshold. Pure computing power and luck.
- 3Share the block
The winning block circulates the network; other nodes verify it in a fraction of a second.
- 4Reward
The winner receives 3.125 BTC plus the transaction fees in that block.
An attacker would need to own more than half of ±960 EH/s — economically almost impossible.
Fixed schedule up to a maximum of 21 million BTC. Mining is the only source.
Anyone can join. You too, from your desk.
Mining at home: three realistic routes
Small, quiet devices from 1 to 160 watts. You won't get rich, but you learn everything about pools, wallets and hashrate — and join the solo lottery for a whole block. By far the most fun and safest entry.
New category: miners built to heat a room (Avalon Mini 3, Heatbit). Almost every watt becomes heat. If you already heat electrically, you get the same heat — with sats back.
Run the numbersSerious returns, but 75–85 dB of noise, lots of heat and often a dedicated power circuit. Only worthwhile with a garage or shed AND a low electricity rate.
All official mini-miners at a glance
Mini-miners come in two flavours. Open-source miners (Bitaxe and Nerd families) have public schematics and firmware (AxeOS, NerdAxe OS): fully verifiable, repairable and tunable yourself. They run on the same Bitmain chips as large Antminers — from the older BM1366 (±0.5 TH/s per chip) to the newest BM1370 from the Antminer S21 generation (±1.2 TH/s per chip). Manufacturer miners (Canaan/Avalon, Braiins, FutureBit) are ready-to-use and often extra quiet, but closed.
Open-source mini-miners
Manufacturer and heater miners
*Indicative prices June 2026; prices vary per shop and shipping and import costs may apply. Specifications are factory figures at stock settings.
Mining Dogecoin & Litecoin (Scrypt)
Dogecoin is mined via the Scrypt algorithm together with Litecoin (merged mining): one machine earns two coins at once. Returns are more volatile than Bitcoin — always recalculate with current prices and your electricity rate.
Honestly: what does it earn?
Here we'd rather be too honest than too enthusiastic. With a network of ±960 EH/s, a price of ±€63,000 and a Dutch electricity rate of ±€0.30 per kWh, a month of mining looks like this:
Only devices with known power consumption are included.
Calculation example as of 10 June 2026, only block subsidy via a pool, before pool fees. Returns change continuously with price and difficulty.
As an investment, a mini-miner is loss-making in the Netherlands — our electricity is too expensive for that.
As a learning project and lottery, it's unique: you verifiably take part in the real network, receive sats daily via your pool, and get a daily mini-chance at a whole block of ±€197,000 (which is why many mine solo via Solo CKPool).
As heating it can pay off: if you already heat a room electrically, the electricity is spent anyway and the sats are pure bonus. An Avalon Mini 3 provides the same heat as an 800-watt electric heater.
How to start: step-by-step
- 1Calculate the business case
Consumption (kW) × 24 × 30 × your electricity price = monthly cost. Compare with the table above or an independent mining calculator.
- 2Choose your hardware
Learning and joining in: Bitaxe Gamma or Avalon Nano 3S. Heat: heater-miner. Returns: large ASIC, only with a low electricity rate.
- 3Arrange power and space
A mini-miner fits on any desk and socket. A large ASIC needs its own 16A circuit, extraction and hearing protection.
- 4Choose pool or solo
A pool (e.g. Braiins Pool, Ocean) pays out daily pro rata; solo (e.g. Solo CKPool) is the pure lottery for the whole block. Many mini-miners go solo: daily returns are small anyway, the dream is the block.
- 5Set up your wallet
Have payouts sent to a wallet whose keys you hold (hardware wallet), not to an exchange address.
- 6Monitor and maintain
Via the web interface (AxeOS on Bitaxe models) you track hashrate and temperature; keep everything dust-free.
Not just bitcoin: mining other coins
Dozens of blockchains use their own Proof-of-Work algorithms. The best-known options: Litecoin + Dogecoin (Scrypt; via merged mining you mine both at once with one ASIC, like an Antminer L series or Goldshell mini), Monero (RandomX, deliberately CPU-friendly — a modern Ryzen or Intel joins in from home), Ethereum Classic (Etchash, still runs on gaming GPUs with 8 GB+), Ravencoin and Ergo (GPU) and Kaspa (kHeavyHash, dedicated small ASICs from e.g. IceRiver).
Note: large chains like Ethereum, Solana and Cardano use Proof-of-Stake — there's nothing to mine there, but you can stake.
Tax, costs and safety
In the Netherlands quickly around €0.30 per kWh; check your own rate, and off-peak hours with a dynamic contract. Below ±€0.15, mining for returns becomes interesting.
Mini-miners are quiet; large ASICs (75–85 dB) belong in a separate, ventilated space with proper wiring.
Price and difficulty move continuously; what breaks even today may turn to loss after the ±April 2028 halving.
In the Netherlands, mining income falls — depending on your situation — under Box 1 (income from other activities) or counts in Box 3. Consult the tax authority or a tax adviser.
Frequently asked questions
Can you still mine profitably at home in the Netherlands in 2026?▾
For pure profit, usually not: at ±€0.30 per kWh, electricity costs exceed the returns. Exceptions: you use the heat usefully (heater-miner), you have very cheap or your own solar power, or you mine to learn and for the solo lottery.
What's the best mini-miner to start with?▾
For most people: the Bitaxe Gamma (±€100–150, open source, 1.2 TH/s, whisper-quiet) or the Avalon Nano 3S (±€300, 6 TH/s, ready-to-use and quiet). To also run your own Bitcoin node, look at the FutureBit Apollo line.
What's the chance my mini-miner finds a block?▾
Small, but real. A Bitaxe Gamma statistically finds a block of ±€197,000 once every ±15,000 years. Compare it to a lottery where your ticket re-enters every 10 minutes — while your hardware collects sats via a pool in the meantime.
Does a mini-miner use a lot of electricity?▾
No. A Bitaxe (±20 W) uses less than a small LED set; an Avalon Nano 3S (140 W) about as much as a game console. Only large ASICs (3,000+ W) require changes to your fuse box.
Is mining heat really usable as heating?▾
Yes — almost 100% of the power consumption becomes heat, just like an electric heater. An 800W heater-miner warms a small room and returns ±52,000 sats per month. To see if it pays off in your situation, run the numbers with our heat calculator.
Last checked: 10 June 2026. Sources: network data via CoinWarz/Hashrate Index; model specifications via manufacturers (Canaan, FutureBit, Braiins, Heatbit) and specialised shops (D-Central, Solo Satoshi, Mineshop). Indicative prices may vary.
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