Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash mining: which SHA-256 home miner?
The same miner can do BTC and BCH. On BCH your chance of a block is 271 times higher, the block worth 281 times less. Models, odds and power costs.
A SHA-256 miner can mine both bitcoin and bitcoin cash; you choose with a single setting in the pool. On 2 November 2026 your chance of a block on bitcoin cash is 271 times higher than on bitcoin, while that block is worth 281 times less. So on average it earns almost the same, about €0.03 per TH/s a day. At MineShop the NerdOctaxe (9.6 TH/s) costs €299.87 and the NerdQaxe++ Rev6 Hydro (6 TH/s) €204.87 excluding VAT, and the code CRYPTOCODES takes a further 3% off.
SHA-256 home miners in short
- One algorithm, two coins: bitcoin and bitcoin cash both use SHA-256. For the NerdOctaxe and the NerdQaxe++, MineShop accordingly lists ‘Bitcoin, BCH’.
- The odds: a 9.6 TH/s NerdOctaxe finds on average one bitcoin block every 2,105 years and one bitcoin cash block every 7.8 years.
- The value: a bitcoin block is worth about €215,294, a bitcoin cash block about €766.
- Almost equal on average: €0.029 per TH/s a day on bitcoin, €0.028 on bitcoin cash, without transaction fees.
- Electricity weighs more: at the average EU price a NerdOctaxe costs €1.02 in electricity a day and earns €0.28 on average.
- Warranty: the shop mentions a 180-day manufacturer's warranty. As a consumer in the EU you also have at least 2 years of legal guarantee.
Five SHA-256 home miners at MineShop
The NerdOctaxe is on the site with a crossed-out price of €589.87, and at the time of writing 2 were left. Per TH/s it is the cheapest, together with the larger Hydro. The shop lists 150 W on the product card and 150 to 180 W in the description; at 180 W the electricity bill is a fifth higher than below.
The NerdQaxe++ Rev6 Hydro (crossed-out price €369.87) has a closed water circuit that you do not need to top up. The specifications say 40 dB, the description less than 35 dB. In the lower setting, according to the shop, it does 4.82 TH/s at 70.6 W, which is more efficient per TH/s than 6 TH/s at 103 W.
The Bitaxe Gamma 601 is the entry level: 17 W costs about €42 a year at the EU price, but you pay double per TH/s. The Hammer BC04 is just as fast as the NerdQaxe++ Hydro and costs €75 more, but has ethernet as well as Wi-Fi. The NerdOctaxe Rev 3.1 Hydro is the largest in the line-up. For the NerdOctaxes and the NerdQaxe++ Hydro the shop lists bitcoin and bitcoin cash, for the Gamma and the BC04 only bitcoin; check there whether you can set a pool address yourself.
Bitcoin or bitcoin cash: the same machine, a different lottery
Both networks pay 3.125 coins per block and aim for one block every ten minutes. The difference lies in how much hashrate takes part, and in the price. For a NerdOctaxe, at the difficulty and prices of 2 November 2026 (€68,894 per BTC, €245.10 per BCH):
So on average it makes little difference. What does differ is the experience. On bitcoin you will probably never find a block with a home miner, but if it happens, it is an amount that makes a real difference. On bitcoin cash a block is within reach, and then you are talking about about €766. For all five models:
On our solo pool you use port 3333 for bitcoin and port 3334 for bitcoin cash, with your own address for each coin; the reward goes straight to that address, and the pool keeps 1%. You switch in the miner's web interface. At a regular pool you receive the average earnings in small pieces, minus that pool's fees. Work it out yourself with your own electricity price:
Work out your own SHA-256 miner
Pick a model, a coin and your electricity price. The earnings use the figures from 2 November 2026.
- Electricity per day
- €1.02
- 3.60 kWh per day
- Average earnings per day
- €0.28
- 0.00000407 BTC
- Break-even electricity price
- €0.078
- per kWh
- Balance per day
- €-0.74
- Balance per year
- €-270
- Excluding the cost of the miner
- Chance per year of a BTC block
- 0.047%
- On average one block every 2,105 years
As of 2 November 2026: bitcoin network about 1,062 EH/s, bitcoin cash about 3.92 EH/s; €68,894 per BTC, €245.10 per BCH. Excluding pool fees and transaction fees. Hashrate and power draw according to MineShop.
What is left after electricity
At the average EU price of €0.2832 per kWh, with earnings on bitcoin and without pool fees. The balance is calculated before rounding:
The calculator on MineShop's product pages arrives at the same earnings, but it defaults to €0.05 per kWh and therefore shows a small profit. Enter your own price there. Around spring 2028, at block 1,050,000, the reward halves on both networks to 1.5625 coins. That is our estimate based on the current block height; the exact date depends on the pace. There is more on what this means in practice in what mining bitcoin at home really earns. If you would rather work with litecoin and dogecoin, read our comparison of Scrypt miners.
What does this mean for you as a European buyer?
Electricity. This is what a model costs per year when running continuously, at Eurostat's household prices (first half of 2026, consumption of 2,500 to 5,000 kWh a year, including taxes):
VAT. The amounts in this article exclude VAT. On the product card MineShop also shows a price including 23% VAT, €368.84 for the NerdOctaxe. For an online purchase as a consumer, the rate of your own country usually applies in the EU: in the Netherlands the NerdOctaxe with the code comes to €351.95 including 21% VAT. Check the amount at checkout.
Warranty and returns. MineShop mentions a 180-day manufacturer's warranty. According to the EU, as a consumer you always have at least 2 years of legal guarantee from the seller, and a commercial guarantee cannot limit that right. According to the shop, you can return an item because you changed your mind within 14 days if the packaging is still sealed. Report a defect on arrival within 3 working days, with video. The shop adds that your statutory rights continue to apply.
Shipping. Most orders come from Ireland and Latvia, with no customs within the EU, and according to the shop take 1 to 2 working days by express or 2 to 6 working days by economy.
Tax. What you mine can count as income, and the rules differ per country. See crypto and tax in Europe.
The code. Enter CRYPTOCODES at checkout; the terms are on the page about the MineShop discount code.
What is not certain yet
- The odds on bitcoin cash. They depend on the hashrate on that network, and that difficulty is recalculated with every block. If large miners switch over, your chance drops quickly.
- Transaction fees. We only count the fixed reward of 3.125 coins. The transaction fees in a block come on top and vary per block.
- Power draw and noise. The shop lists different values on the product card and in the description, including 150 to 180 W for the NerdOctaxe, and 100 or 103 W and 40 or less than 35 dB for the NerdQaxe++ Hydro.
- Stock. The NerdOctaxe had 2 units left at the time of writing, and prices can change.
- The code on the sale price. In August the 3% came on top of the sale price. Whether that applies to every model, you will see in the cart.
This article is not investment advice. Crypto can lose a lot of value and you can lose your entire investment. MineShop is a partner of ours: through the links in this article we may receive a fee, at no extra cost to you.
Frequently asked questions
Can a bitcoin miner also mine bitcoin cash?
Yes, if it runs SHA-256 and you can set the pool address. Bitcoin and bitcoin cash use the same algorithm, so the machine does not notice the difference. You do need a pool that supports bitcoin cash, and a bitcoin cash address.
Is mining bitcoin cash more profitable than bitcoin?
Not on average: on 2 November 2026 it was €0.028 against €0.029 per TH/s a day. Your chance of a block is 271 times higher, but the block is worth 281 times less.
How likely is a NerdOctaxe to find a block?
On bitcoin 0.048% a year, or on average one block every 2,105 years. On bitcoin cash 12.1% a year, or on average one block every 7.8 years.
What does a NerdOctaxe cost in electricity?
At 150 W that is 1,314 kWh a year: €372 at the average EU price, €321 in the Netherlands and €475 in Germany.
Is there a discount code for MineShop?
Yes, CRYPTOCODES gives 3% off at checkout. The shop's prices exclude VAT; VAT and shipping are added at checkout.
Sources
Read on 2 November 2026.
- MineShop: NerdOctaxe, specifications, price and calculator
- MineShop: NerdQaxe++ Rev6 Hydro, specifications, price and calculator
- MineShop: NerdOctaxe Rev 3.1 Hydro, specifications and price
- MineShop: Bitaxe Gamma 601, specifications and price
- MineShop: Hammer BC04, specifications and price
- MineShop: return policy
- MineShop: shipping policy
- Eurostat: electricity prices for households, table nrg_pc_204 (first half of 2026, updated 19 October 2026)
- European Commission, Your Europe: guarantees and returns
- European Commission, Your Europe: VAT on cross-border sales
- mempool.space: bitcoin difficulty and block height
- Blockchair: bitcoin cash difficulty and block height
- CoinGecko: BTC and BCH prices in euros