The community driving home Bitcoin mining is moving forward with the development of WallAxe, an open source mini ASIC designed to plug directly into the wall.
WallAxe is a variant of the Bitaxe (another mini home miner), but without supports, cables or external sourceswhich gives it the appearance of a “sticky miner” designed to integrate into any surface and favor greater distribution of computing power.
The project is built collaboratively within Open Source Miners United (OSMU), with contributions from independent developers, and is financed through the Geyser Fund, a platform where the community funds initiatives linked to the network infrastructure.
A prototype mini Bitcoin ASIC based on the Bitaxe Supra
The device It is still in the prototype phase. and it does not have final specifications regarding its computing power (hashrate).
During this stage of development, as stated by the Geyser websitethe WallAxe is being tested with the same chip used in the Bitaxe Supra.
Therefore, a useful, although not definitive, reference point for the WallAxe’s potential qualities comes from the Bitaxe Supra. The latter uses Bitmain’s BM1368 chip and reaches around 700 gigahashes per second (GH/s) and with a consumption of 18–19 watts.
Theoretically, a device incorporating that same chip could aspire to similar performance. However, the WallAxe’s compact design, specific dissipation and integrated power supply could modify these figures in practice.
The active prototypes, as explained by Geysen, are being tested with that Supra chip with 18 to 19 watts of consumption in overclock (make the chip work faster than the manufacturer set it at the factory).
The team affirms that this range is maintained stable at ambient temperatures of 24–25 °C. To achieve this, they incorporated a 10 millimeter fan and a low-profile (low and flat) copper heatsink to cool the chip.
The integrated power supply can deliver up to 8 amps of continuous current at a stable voltage of 5 volts. Furthermore, the plug is interchangeable with commercial models, which improves its international compatibility.
Other features of the WallAxe to mine Bitcoin at home
This mini ASIC offers the possibility of adding the BitHalo, a luminous ring that lights up every time the miner sends a share to the poolthat is, a partial test that confirms that you are contributing work.
The project aims to allow any user to assemble a WallAxe with available materials and 3D printed partsas also offered by CryptoCloaks, MakerWorld Bitaxe Models and other similar initiatives.
According to the publication in Geyser, the safety of the current prototype still needs to be improved and progress towards a Gamma version, which would maintain similar consumption.