If you are on the lookout for the best USB Bitcoin miner and hope to make some decent profits, you might be in for a disappointment. What started as a fad and did generate some profits a few years ago has become unviable now. The low processing power of USB ASIC miners is no longer sufficient to efficiently mine the major cryptos. Opting for a cloud mining platform or setting up your own mining rig can be a better option. If you are still keen on knowing the top USB ASIC miners, you can check the list below.
USB Bitcoin Mining Profitability
Most of the USB miners listed below are not available, that’s because USB bitcoin mining has died down in profitability due to multiple factors. USB miners made it easy for you to get started with bitcoin mining, however, due to increasing adoption, bitcoin halving, and other factors, the profitability has died.
Top 5 Best USB Bitcoin Miners
1. ASIC Bitcoin Miner USB
Sapphire Block Erupters were the first-ever miners to be created. Releasing the power of 330Mh/s of hash power, the user would be able to receive nothing less than $0.01/month thus not enough to earn profitability.
Relation to the ASIC bitcoin miner USB, it generates a power of 25 gigahash/second which is, nowadays; almost nothing but not that much due to the rise in the difficulty of obtaining Bitcoins. The device will need active cooling as it gets hot due to the processing i.e 80 degrees on the heatsink. So how does it work?
Firstly, you insert the device into the computer, download the drivers, download the mining software which is the CG minor. Inform the software with a batch file on the BTC address, where it should send the payment to and to perform either a solo or pool mining and setting the frequency in which you can run it depending on the frequency you get more hash rate with higher power consumption or less hash rate with low power consumption. You will be then ready to mine.
2. Gekkoscience Compac USB stick
The GekkoScience miners are a bit better than the Sapphire Block Erupters. Weighing about 0.8 ounces with a power efficiency of 0.33 W/Gh; its mining capacity is 9.5 Gh/s. Earning $0.15/month, the user will attain more than a dollar per annually. It is a silent device with a single USB port.
While using this hardware, it can perform up to 15GH/s where its performance can increase if it was to be overclocked. Electricity generated will take about 3 watts which is smaller than LED bulb, therefore, cost cents or even lower per month, thus it’s practically free to run plus there is a chance that a profit can be made i.e a dollar plus 10 cents/ month. So how does it work?:
Plug the device into the computer and run the software Before running, download the CG Minor available online. Once it’s downloaded, go to slushpool.com Create a username and very own worker ID Open the software, change the .DAT file specifically to the slush pool address with the user ID and the sub-user which is the worker name Once you are finished, set up the frequency i.e 140-150 degrees is the standard frequency or if it is too hot, reduce the temperature. Depends on the cool environment which you are working on, thus overclocking it Start the software and plug in the USB. Register for a mining pool, change the setting to your very own pool Start mining.
3. Avalon Nano 3
Being a miner of 3.6GH/s, its specifics are insufficient to earn high profits but rather earn just enough to cover the network costs.
The steps are pretty straightforward compared to the other devices mentioned before, as the USB is only being required to be plugged into the computer but the only problem would be earning a dollar per year. People would not be patient enough to sit every day and earn a dollar for a year.
The advantage of this device is that the use of a fan is not required so it does signify that it would not heat up as much as an ASIC or Gekko device would but on the other hand, it is time-consuming to earn. However, it is a good practice in terms of earning bitcoin but cannot be used more than that.
4. Bitmain Antrouter R1 Wifi Solo Bitcoin Miner
We cannot really compare this device to a miner but it is similar to it. One perk would be it’s low cost and having a low GH/s at a rate of 5.5 GH/s, it would be able to generate a profit of more than a dollar in a year. This is more helpful compared to the Avalon Nano 3.
The plus side is it works as a wireless router, so you can do some mining while providing internet for all your devices. The network will not block coverage for other devices, therefore, provide availability and not create a nuisance.
This device can only mine using Bitcoin script, meaning you are competing with mining pools that have much larger setups. If you are serious about making money mining Bitcoin, you cannot afford to have a miner doing under 2 TH/s. That’s why the Bitmain Antrouter R1 is perfect for those that are a bit more serious about their mining.
5. 21 Bitcoin Computer
The 21 Bitcoin Computer isn’t considered as a Bitcoin miner, however, it plugins to your computer via USB. In terms of $/hash rate, it’s not a very good choice.
Having to use this option is not as popular as such since Bitcoin was only profitable in the early years before the competition has risen over the years. Investing in hardcore hardware or buying bitcoins is more suitable.
First, I doubt, for a fact, that this machine will return back the investments spend on the initial cost and running expenditure. Second, it is not the answer in which we are looking for to invest in to earn big bucks but rather earn enough just to support the network but all the more, it is an interesting concept. To those users who have lack of knowledge in the usage and setup, there are clear tutorials that are taught in order for the users to know how to use the device, especially to those users who have zero experience in coding.