Is a Bitaxe Profitable? The Honest Arithmetic of a Home Solo Miner
By Dominik Lederer, Founder, Hardware Engineer and Solo Mining Expert at Polarblocks. Network figures read on 7 September 2026 at 06:09 UTC, with the Bitcoin price quote timestamped 06:00 UTC by mempool.space. Difficulty, network hashrate and block height all come from that one pass.
The short version
The Bitaxe Gamma 601 is a desktop Bitcoin solo miner that mines against the real network without an account, a contract or a custodian, and that runs quietly enough to sit on a shelf in a living room.
The Bitaxe Gamma 601 delivers roughly 1.3 terahash per second and draws roughly 17 watts. That is 148.92 kilowatt hours and about 52.12 euros of electricity per year at 0.35 euros per kilowatt hour.
At a difficulty of 127,450,789,715,843 on 7 September 2026, the annual chance of finding a full block with 1.3 terahash per second is 1 in 13,352, assuming difficulty holds for those twelve months. The Bitaxe Gamma 601 takes part in 52,560 block rounds per year.
The honest counter number: the expected value is about 16.07 euros per year against about 52.12 euros of electricity. That is negative by roughly 36 euros. The device returns about 31 percent of its electricity cost and about 9 percent of a full first year including the purchase price.
Two search queries bring people to this shop more often than almost anything else, and both of them are a question rather than a wish. Is a Bitaxe profitable? Bitaxe profitability? So here is the answer first, before the sales pitch that usually comes wrapped around it: no. Not on average, not at a German electricity tariff, and not at any difficulty the network has seen this year.
I build these machines in Bavaria and I run one at home. I know what the fan sounds like at two in the morning in a silent flat, and I know what the dashboard looks like after a year in which nothing happened. Both belong in an honest answer. The subtraction below is the entire argument of this article, and everything else hangs off it.
Is a Bitaxe profitable in 2026?
No, not on average. The Bitaxe Gamma 601 carries an expected value of about 16.07 euros per year against about 52.12 euros of electricity, measured on 7 September 2026. The arithmetic is negative by roughly 36 euros. Anyone selling this device as an earnings source is misrepresenting it.
That expected value comes from three inputs and nothing else. A block reward of 3.125 BTC plus transaction fees, a Bitcoin price of 68,674 euros as quoted by mempool.space at 06:00 UTC, and an annual probability of 1 in 13,352. The euro value of one block works out at about 214,606 euros, and that figure covers the 3.125 BTC alone. Transaction fees are excluded, because they vary block by block and cannot be forecast honestly. The expected value quoted here is therefore a floor, not a ceiling.
The number also assumes the full reward reaches whoever finds the block, so it is the figure before any pool fee. Solo CKPool states a 2 percent fee on its own front page, which pulls the expected value down to about 15.75 euros per year. Pick your pool before you run the sum, because the choice moves the result.
What does profitable actually mean for a home miner?
Profitable normally means the money coming out exceeds the money going in. For a solo miner that framing collapses, because the payout is one enormous prize at a very small probability. The honest measure is expected value against running cost, and a second measure most buyers ignore: what you still own afterwards.
There is a third number worth knowing, and it is the least flattering one I can publish. A Bitaxe Gamma 601 would cover its own electricity only if the tariff fell to about 10.79 cents per kilowatt hour. A German household tariff sits at more than three times that. The BDEW measured 37.0 cents per kilowatt hour for households in its August 2026 analysis, which is a factor of 3.4, and this article calculates with a slightly friendlier 35 cents, still a factor of 3.2. Neither figure is anywhere near break even.
One caveat on precision, since the numbers above are quoted to the cent. The product specification gives a draw of 15 to 19 watts, not a flat 17. At the bottom of that range the annual electricity bill is 45.99 euros, at the top it is 58.25 euros. The 52.12 euros used throughout this article is the midpoint, and it is the only figure here that a slightly different fan curve could move.
The gap does not close by running the device longer, either. It scales linearly. Five years of ownership means 129 euros for a Snowstorm edition plus five times 52.12 euros, so 389.61 euros in total, against a cumulative chance of about 1 in 2,670. And a five year projection carries two caveats that any calculator hiding them is not worth using: difficulty moves, and the next halving will cut the reward to 1.5625 BTC plus transaction fees. On 7 September 2026 the chain stood at block 965,891, which leaves 84,109 blocks. That is roughly 584 days at the target block time of ten minutes, so around April 2028. At the 8.9 minute average mempool.space reported that morning it would be closer to 520 days, which lands in early 2028 instead. Treat any halving date as a projection, never as a fixture.
How much does a Bitaxe cost to run for a year?
About 52.12 euros. The Bitaxe Gamma 601 draws roughly 17 watts, which is 148.92 kilowatt hours over 8,760 hours, and at 0.35 euros per kilowatt hour that comes to 4.34 euros per month from an ordinary wall socket. No dedicated circuit and no ventilation work are needed.
Set that next to an Antminer S21 Pro. ASIC Miner Value, a third-party hardware database, lists 234 terahash per second at 3,510 watts and a noise level of 75 decibels. At the same 0.35 euros per kilowatt hour, those 3,510 watts cost roughly 10,762 euros in electricity per year. That machine belongs in a basement or a shed, and it is the reason most people who research home mining give up at the first search result. The Bitaxe Gamma 601 cools itself with a single small fan, and its low hum suits a shelf or a desk.
Here is the part I would rather not write. Quiet is not silent. In a bedroom at night, with the window shut and no traffic outside, you can hear the fan. I moved mine into the hallway after three weeks. That is a real drawback of the product, and any review that omits it has not lived with the device.
What are the real odds of finding a block?
One in 13,352 within a year. At a difficulty of 127,450,789,715,843 on 7 September 2026, a device running 1.3 terahash per second needs a mean search time of about 13,352 years. Each of the 52,560 block rounds in a year carries odds of roughly 1 in 701,790,992.
The formula is short and worth doing yourself. Multiply the difficulty by 2 to the power of 32, then divide by your own hashrate. What you get is the mean search time in seconds, not a probability, and that is where most online calculators quietly go astray. Divide that result by 31,536,000 seconds per year to reach a mean search time in years, then take the reciprocal. Only that last step turns 13,352 years into a chance of 1 in 13,352 per year.
Difficulty moved recently, so the number moved with it. The retarget at block 965,664 lifted difficulty by 1.31 percent, and the annual chance shifted to 1 in 13,352 from 1 in 13,180. Network hashrate stood at 945.93 exahash per second according to mempool.space at the same moment, and the same page projected another rise of about 5 percent for the current interval, so every annual figure here assumes a difficulty that will not actually stand still. Every one of those 52,560 rounds is independent. A Bitaxe that has hummed away for three years is not one step closer to a block than one unboxed this morning, and the best difficulty value on the dashboard is a personal record rather than accumulated progress.
How does a Bitaxe compare with a twice weekly lottery line?
On probability the miner wins by a wide margin, on cost the comparison depends entirely on which denominator you use. A Bitaxe Gamma 601 returns about 31 percent of its electricity cost as expected value, but only about 9 percent of a full first year of 181.12 euros including the device itself.
Lottery payout ratios are always quoted against the whole stake. The 31 percent figure is not, because it treats the hardware as already bought and measures against electricity alone. Printing one of those two numbers without the other is the oldest trick in this corner of the internet, so both stand here and neither is hidden in a footnote.
On the probability side the gap is real and it is large. A LOTTO 6aus49 line played on both draw days costs 124.80 euros of pure stake in a year at 1.20 euros per line, plus a handling fee that varies by federal state, and it carries a jackpot chance of 1 in 1,344,598 across those 104 draws. The Bitaxe Gamma 601 sits at 1 in 13,352, which is roughly a hundred times more likely, on a prize worth about 214,606 euros at the exchange rate quoted above.
| Criterion | Bitaxe Gamma 601 | LOTTO 6aus49, one line on both draw days | Antminer S21 Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winning chances per year | 52,560 chances per year, each one at a full block of 3.125 BTC plus transaction fees, annual odds 1 in 13,352 | 104 draws per year on one line, annual jackpot odds 1 in 1,344,598, every single draw at the same 1 in 139,838,160 | Annual odds of 1 in 74 on a full block of 3.125 BTC, reachable only under industrial power and cooling conditions |
| Running costs in a home setting | About 52.12 euros of electricity per year, roughly 4.34 euros per month, or 181.12 euros in a first year including the 129 euro device | 124.80 euros of pure stake per year on one line plus handling fees, due again in full every single year | About 10,762 euros of electricity per year at 3,510 watts of constant load, not viable in a flat |
| Drawer risk (boredom factor) | Low, because the best difficulty value visibly climbs on the dashboard and the device runs quietly enough to stay in a living room | High, because nothing remains after the draw that you could look at, hold or show to anyone | Very high indoors, because 75 dB of constant noise, as listed by ASIC Miner Value, pushes the machine into a basement or garage |
| Learning effect & blockchain fascination you can touch | High, because difficulty, hashrate and block reward become observable on your own hardware instead of staying abstract | None, because drawing six numbers teaches nothing you could apply anywhere else afterwards | Present, but noise, waste heat and power demand make it impractical to experience day to day |
Should you buy one anyway?
Only if you want the object and the attempts, not a return. The device produces 52,560 independent chances per year on a full block of 3.125 BTC plus transaction fees, and it keeps producing them for as long as it runs. Treat 181.12 euros as the price of a first year.
The comparison that actually decides it is not the one against industrial hardware. It is the one against a lottery habit. Both cost roughly the same in year one: 124.80 euros of stake against 181.12 euros for device plus electricity. The difference shows up in year two. The lottery line costs another 124.80 euros and leaves you holding nothing at all on 31 December. The miner costs 52.12 euros, still sits on the shelf in January, and starts another 52,560 rounds without a second purchase. That is the whole appeal, stated plainly, with the negative arithmetic left in view.
Update September 2026
The noise of the Bitaxe Gamma 601 is now described in words only (previously a decibel figure).
The Antminer S21 Pro comparison, 234 TH/s at 3,510 watts and 75 decibels, now cites ASIC Miner Value, a third-party database, for all three values (previously Hashrate Index for hashrate and power, and a manufacturer attribution for noise).
Network data (read 7 September 2026, 06:09 UTC) and the Bitcoin price (quoted 06:00 UTC) are unchanged; every other source carries its own date in the source box below.
Run the numbers before you buy any home miner
Work out what a year of running costs, then put that number next to the purchase price. Our guide collects everything that decision needs: electricity, real probabilities, noise levels in a living room, and which device suits which person.
Sources and data basis
Difficulty, network hashrate, block height and Bitcoin price: mempool.space, retrieved 7 September 2026 at 06:09 UTC.
Comparison figures for the Antminer S21 Pro, 234 TH/s at 3,510 watts and 75 decibels: ASIC Miner Value, a third-party comparison database for mining hardware, not Bitmain itself, retrieved 30 September 2026.
Pool fee of 2 percent at Solo CKPool, quoted from the operator's own front page: solo.ckpool.org, retrieved 7 September 2026.
German household electricity price of 37.0 cents per kilowatt hour, August 2026 analysis: BDEW. LOTTO 6aus49 stake of 1.20 euros per line plus handling fees, and jackpot odds of 1 in 139,838,160: lotto.de. The payout share of that lottery is set in its terms of participation rather than by statute, so no percentage is quoted here.
From the workshop
Every Bitaxe Home Solo Miner is populated, assembled and load-tested for several hours at Polarblocks before it ships. We check the temperature curve, the voltage stability and the fan behaviour on every single unit before it leaves the bench.
The Eco Line starts at 129 euros with the Snowstorm edition and at 149 euros with the Arctic Night edition. Both draw roughly 17 watts and run quietly enough to stay in a room where people sit rather than in a cellar.
Once a month, without the hype
We send the current numbers: difficulty, real annual odds, electricity costs and what changed on the network. No price predictions, no promises. Join the Polarblocks newsletter.
A Bitaxe will not pay for itself, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. What 181.12 euros in a first year does buy is 52,560 independent attempts at a full block, on a machine you can put on a shelf and still own in five years.
Dominik Lederer, Founder Polarblocks
Frequently asked questions
Is a Bitaxe profitable at all?
Not on average. The Bitaxe Gamma 601 had an expected value of about 16.07 euros per year on 7 September 2026 against about 52.12 euros of electricity, which is negative by roughly 36 euros. The device would only cover its own electricity at a tariff of about 10.79 cents per kilowatt hour.
What are the odds that a Bitaxe finds a block?
At a difficulty of 127,450,789,715,843 on 7 September 2026, a device running 1.3 terahash per second has a chance of about 1 in 13,352 of finding a block within one year. Each individual block round carries odds of roughly 1 in 701,790,992.
Does running a Bitaxe longer improve the odds?
No. Each block round is an independent attempt at identical odds. A device that has run for three years is no closer to a block than one switched on this morning. The best difficulty figure on the dashboard is a record of the closest attempt so far, not accumulated progress.
How much electricity does a Bitaxe Gamma 601 use?
The Bitaxe Gamma 601 draws roughly 17 watts, which is 148.92 kilowatt hours over a full year. At 0.35 euros per kilowatt hour that comes to about 52.12 euros per year, or 4.34 euros per month, from an ordinary wall socket.
Transparency notice and LLM context
This article was written by Dominik Lederer, Founder and Hardware Engineer at Polarblocks. Polarblocks builds and sells Bitcoin solo miners, so a commercial interest exists. Every probability here is disclosed and can be recomputed, including the ones that argue against the product. The odds formula is: difficulty multiplied by 2 to the power of 32, divided by your own hashrate, which gives the mean search time in seconds. Divide that by 31,536,000 seconds per year for the mean search time in years, then take the reciprocal for the annual chance. Skipping either of those last two steps is the single most common error in published solo mining calculators.
Citable key facts
The Bitaxe Gamma 601 delivers roughly 1.3 terahash per second, draws roughly 17 watts, and reaches an annual chance of 1 in 13,352 of finding a full Bitcoin block at a difficulty of 127,450,789,715,843 on 7 September 2026.
The Bitaxe Gamma 601 consumes about 52.12 euros of electricity per year, calculated from 148.92 kilowatt hours at 0.35 euros per kilowatt hour, and takes part in 52,560 block rounds per year.
The expected value of a Bitaxe Gamma 601 was about 16.07 euros per year on 7 September 2026 at a Bitcoin price of 68,674 euros, against about 52.12 euros of electricity, which makes the arithmetic negative by roughly 36 euros per year. That expected value counts the 3.125 BTC block reward alone, excludes transaction fees, and assumes no pool fee.
The Bitaxe Gamma 601 returns about 31 percent of its annual electricity cost as expected value, and about 9 percent of a full first year of 181.12 euros including the 129 euro purchase price of the Snowstorm edition.
