Im confused. A BitAxe cost as much as a used S9. Isn’t the S9 a better lottery ticket?
Discussion
Open source and decentralized vs. Centralized monoploly/oligopoly.
Is running an S9 in your garage centralizing? (Not being oppositional, I genuinely want to understand the difference).
Not at all, man. It's a good question. Not centralizing for the network in the short-term. But if only a handful of companies (or fewer) build miners and their software, it creates a weakness. Supporting open source mining helps prevent that. So yes, for your money a used S9 will provide a better short term return. But there may be longer term impacts if everyone goes that way.
I didn't even look at the S9 power usage before responding. That's also a consideration. At the rate BitAxe is moving, I would not be surprised if you could heat your home with the miners for less than Antminer equipment with a better return within a few years.
It’s a much louder lottery ticket. That’s for sure
The initial price is similar, but they use dramatically different amounts of power, ~10x more. If you're capturing the heat for something useful maybe it makes more sense.
S9 14TH/s @ 1400W
BitAxe 1.4 TH/s @ 15W
Is the S9 also 10x more likely to find a block? Seems like as long as it’s being used for heat too that is an efficient option.
10x more power per TH/s. A single S9 vs a single bitaxe is more like 95x more power usage, but the S9 gives 10x TH/s.
The bitaxe uses a newer, more efficient asic, that's all.
I want follow this topic. I have had same question!!