Since 2009, the Bitcoin mining industry has completely transformed itself several times. Modern ASIC-based (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) Bitcoin mining devices offer a better price per hash and electrical efficiency than the most efficient GPUs (Graphical Processing Units). FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) dictated the pace of Bitcoin mining until ASIC mining took over.
ASIC-based Bitcoin mining devices are so efficient that they can be powered from the standard USB port and still deliver a respectable hash rate. Thus, making them perfect for cryptocurrency newbies who want to try mining without spending lots of money and time building a custom mining rig. An ASIC miner can be plugged into any computer with at least one 2A USB port and controlled straight from your favorite Linux distribution. Here are our five favorite USB-based ASIC miners currently available.
USB-Based Bitcoin Mining Profitability
USB-based Bitcoin mining is easy to get into, but it’s not genuinely profitable anymore. That’s because Bitcoin’s hashprice is down to just around $0.1/TH per second due to factors like the growth of mining activity, Bitcoin halving, and others.
The best USB-based Bitcoin miners available today have a stock hash rate of up to 200 GH/s, consuming 10 watts of power. Assuming you have free electricity (a single solar panel can easily power an efficient Linux computer with a USB-based Bitcoin miner), you can expect to make $0.02 per day at most. At this rate, it would take you the entire year to mine 0.0003 worth of BTC. People who are serious about Bitcoin mining purchase dedicated ASIC miners like the Antminer S9K instead.
So, does this mean the miners recommended below are useless? Not really! USB-based Bitcoin mining is still an excellent, low-cost way to enter the exciting world of cryptocurrency mining. The experience you gain is guaranteed to serve you well regardless of which miner you’ll eventually use.
1. GekkoScience Compac F USB Bitcoin Miner
- Price: $275.00 on Amazon.com
- Stock hash rate: 200 GH/sec
- Compatible miner: CGMiner
The GekkoScience Compac F is the best-selling USB Bitcoin miner, and for a good reason. It offers an impressive stock hash rate (for a USB-based miner, that is) of 200 GH/sec, and it can reach up to 500 GH/sec with a 3 A USB port and some serious active cooling. Just know that long-term overclocking can decrease the miner’s lifespan.
Besides Bitcoin, the GekkoScience Compac F can mine any SHA256 coins, including Bitcoin Cash, Namecoin, Litecoin Cash, or TerraCoin. Supposedly a manual is included with the miner, but many people who have purchased it didn’t find any in the box. Fortunately, you can find detailed setup instructions on YouTube.
Buy Here: Amazon
2. GekkoScience NewPac USB Bitcoin Miner
- Price: $279.99 on Amazon.com
- Stock hash rate: 23 GH/sec
- Compatible miner: CGMiner
Our second favorite USB Bitcoin miner is the GekkoScience NewPac. This silent miner contains two Bitmain BM1387 chips, and it delivers a stock hash rate of 23 GH/sec. Yes, that’s not much, but the miner can reach up to 90 GH/sec if you connect it to a USB port that can supply the necessary power.
Being a SHA256 miner, the GekkoScience NewPac can only mine SHA256 algorithm crypto coins like Bitcoin. As a Linux user, you can use the CGMiner software application, which is reliable and well-documented. To see the miner in action, watch this YouTube video.
Buy Here: Amazon
3. NanoFury NF6
- Price: $139 on Amazon.com
- Hash rate: 11 to 14 GH/sec
- Compatible miner: BFGMiner
The NanoFury NF6 comprises six NanoFury NF1 ASIC miners, all mounted on a single printed circuit board and powered from any USB port that can supply at least 1.2 A. Considering that a single NanoFury NF1 miner often sells for over $100, there’s no reason not to get the NanoFury NF6 instead.
To set up and use the NanoFury NF6, you’ll need BFGminer, which is a modular ASIC and FPGA miner written in C. BFGminer features dynamic clocking, monitoring, and remote interface capabilities, among many other neat features, and it runs on Linux and Windows. Arch, Debian, Gentoo, and Ubuntu users can install BFGminer straight from official repositories with a single command. And if you prefer the convenience of GUI over CLI, you can install a front-end such as EasyMiner or MultiMiner.
Buy Here: Amazon
4. GekkoScience 2Pac
- Price: $97.95 on Amazon.com
- Hash rate: 15 GH/sec
- Compatible miner: CGMiner
With a maximum hash rate of up to 15 GH/sec, the GekkoScience 2Pac ASIC miner is the most powerful Bitcoin mining device on this list. It consists of two Bitmain BM1384 chips, known for their excellent efficiency and outstanding performance. As a result, the GekkoScience 2Pac ASIC miner allows you to mine Bitcoin at just 0.32–0.35 W per GH.
GekkoScience recommends the latest version of CGMiner, which is a popular, multi-threaded ASIC and FPGA miner for Bitcoin. CGMiner is distributed under the GPLv3 license and developed openly on GitHub. Depending on which Linux distribution you use, you may need to build it from the source code, but the instructions on how to do so are straightforward to follow, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.
Buy Here: Amazon
5. AntMiner U2
- Price: $114 on Amazon.com
- Hash rate: up to 2.2 GH/sec
- Compatible miner: CGMiner
The AntMiner U2 is a tiny USB Bitcoin miner with a heatsink and amazing power consumption of just 2 W on USB 5V at 1.6 GH/sec. The maximum hash rate the miner is capable of is 2.2 GH/sec, but you’ll need to manually overclock it because the default hash rate is 2.0 GH/sec.
The AntMiner U2 is manufactured by Bitmain, which is one of the world’s most recognized Bitcoin companies, so you have no reason to doubt its reliability. The AntMiner U2 has been around for a while, and its hash rate isn’t exactly impressive by today’s standards. But, if you just want to try Bitcoin mining and want things to work flawlessly, the AntMiner U2 is still a good choice.
Buy Here: Amazon
Bonus: BitcoinMerch.com 10 Port USB Hub 120W Powered USB 2.0 Charging Hub
- Price: $79.99 on Amazon.com
A single USB-based Bitcoin miner won’t make you a cryptocurrency millionaire, but multiple USB miners running simultaneously can earn you nice beer money. This 10-port USB hub from BitcoinMerch.com can deliver up to 120 W of power, allowing you to run as many as 10 USB miners at the same time.
The USB hub is wall-mountable, so you can place it somewhere that it won’t get in your way yet still be easily reachable. The built-in active fan can keep the electronic components inside cool even when pushed to the max.
Buy Here: Amazon
Conclusion
The glory days of USB Bitcoin miners are over, but that doesn’t mean miners like the GekkoScience Compac F or NewPac are completely obsolete. While they won’t make you rich, they can give you the experience you need to take Bitcoin mining—and your cryptocurrency earnings—to the next level.
FAQ
Is USB Bitcoin mining still profitable?
Yes, USB Bitcoin mining can still be profitable if your electricity is cheap or free, but only slightly. You can use a Bitcoin mining profit calculator to figure out exactly how much you can expect to make, but it probably won’t be more than a few cents a day.
What is the most powerful USB Bitcoin miner?
The most powerful USB Bitcoin miner right now is the GekkoScience Compac F. The small miner offers a stock hash rate of 200 GH/sec, but you can push it above 500 GH/sec.
Do USB Bitcoin miners support Linux?
Yes, the USB Bitcoin miners recommended in this article support Linux because they are compatible with CGMiner.
