Bitaxe Ultra, Supra, & Gamma - Full comparison - Solo VS Pool Mining

The Bitaxe Ultra, Supra, and Gamma represent three generations of open-source Bitcoin solo miners, each offering different trade-offs between hashrate, efficiency, and cost. The Ultra (BM1366 chip) is the entry-level model at ~500 GH/s, the Supra (BM1368) provides 40% more hashrate at similar efficiency, and the Gamma (BM1370) delivers the best value with 2.4x the Ultra’s hashrate at industry-leading efficiency.
All three are designed for solo mining—functioning as “Bitcoin lottery tickets” with minimal electricity costs—but can also connect to pooled mining operations.

Hardware Comparison

Specification	Bitaxe Ultra	Bitaxe Supra	Bitaxe Gamma
ASIC Chip	BM1366 (5nm)	BM1368 (5nm)	BM1370 (3nm)
Stock Hashrate	400-500 GH/s	625-775 GH/s	1.0-1.2 TH/s
Max Overclocked	~600 GH/s	~900 GH/s	1.8-2.0+ TH/s
Power Consumption	~12W	~12-15W	~15-21W
Efficiency	~24 J/TH	~17 J/TH	~15 J/TH
Input Voltage	5V DC (barrel jack)	5V DC (barrel jack)	5V DC (barrel jack)
Cooling	40mm fan	40mm fan	40mm high-airflow fan
Noise Level	~35-40 dB	~35-40 dB	~35-40 dB
Display	0.91″ OLED	0.91″ OLED	0.91″ OLED
Price (CAD)	~$189.99	$189.99	$229.99
Monthly Electricity	~$1.04	~$1.04	~$1.55

Key Differences

The Supra is a clear upgrade over the Ultra—same price point but with 40-55% more hashrate and 30% better efficiency thanks to the BM1368 chip. The Gamma represents the sweet spot with the next-generation 3nm BM1370 chip, delivering 2.4x the Ultra’s hashrate while maintaining the best efficiency in the Bitaxe family at ~15 J/TH. All three models run AxeOS firmware, support WiFi connectivity, and can be configured via USB-C for serial access and firmware flashing.

Solo Mining Performance

Expected Time to Find a Block

Model	Hashrate	Expected Time per Block	Annual Probability	Daily Odds
Ultra	0.5 TH/s	~30,500 years	~0.003%	1 in 11.1 million
Supra	0.7 TH/s	~21,800 years	~0.005%	1 in 7.9 million
Gamma	1.2 TH/s	~13,900 years	~0.007%	1 in 6.1 million

The Reality of Solo Mining

Solo mining with Bitaxe devices is fundamentally a lottery system. With the Bitcoin network hashrate at 700+ EH/s, even the Gamma’s 1.2 TH/s represents only ~0.0000000017% of network power. However, the mathematics create an unusual value proposition:

Bitaxe Gamma 601: ~1 in 6.1 million chance per day to find a block worth 3.125 BTC (~$212,500+ USD as of February 2026)
Annual electricity cost: Under $20 per device
Risk-reward ratio: Unmatched compared to traditional lotteries—you’re paying pennies per day for billions of hash attempts every second

The Gamma offers the best balance: 2.4x the odds of the Ultra for only $40 more, with superior efficiency. Multiple Bitaxe owners have successfully found solo blocks, proving it’s possible despite astronomical odds.

Solo VS Pool Mining

Solo Mining with Bitaxe

Advantages:

Full block reward: Keep entire 3.125 BTC plus transaction fees if you find a block
Zero pool fees (when using Public Pool) or minimal fees (2% with Solo CKPool)
Complete autonomy: No reliance on pool payout schedules or third-party custody
Educational value: Learn mining fundamentals, stratum protocol, and Bitcoin mechanics
Decentralization: Contribute to Bitcoin network security independently
Minimal operating costs: $1-2/month electricity makes downside risk nearly zero

Disadvantages:

Extremely low probability: Statistical wait time of thousands of years per device
High variance: May never find a block despite years of operation
No regular income: All-or-nothing reward structure
Opportunity cost: Capital tied up with uncertain returns

Pool Mining with Bitaxe

Advantages:

Regular payouts: Earn proportional share of block rewards based on hashrate contribution
Predictable income: Small but consistent satoshi accumulation
Lower variance: Smoother earnings curve
Community participation: Join decentralization-focused pools like OCEAN or Braiins

Disadvantages:

Tiny payouts: At 1.2 TH/s, daily earnings may be fractions of a satoshi
Pool fees: Typically 0-2% of earnings
Custody concerns: Some pools require accounts and hold your Bitcoin temporarily
Defeats Bitaxe purpose: Most Bitaxe users prefer solo mining for the lottery-style jackpot potential

Which Approach Makes Sense?

For Bitaxe owners, solo mining is the overwhelmingly preferred approach. The devices are specifically designed as “lottery miners” where the goal is the life-changing block reward rather than steady income. Pool mining with 1.2 TH/s yields such minimal returns that it’s primarily useful for:

Learning mining mechanics with visible progress
Supporting decentralization-focused pools like OCEAN
Psychological satisfaction of regular (tiny) payouts

The consensus in the Bitaxe community is: solo mine for the dream, accept you’re buying a lottery ticket that runs 24/7.

Bitaxe open-source miners—Ultra, Supra, and Gamma—are compact, open-hardware Bitcoin devices. The Ultra and Supra use older, mid-tier ASIC chips, while the Gamma packs a powerful, highly efficient BM1370 chip. Choosing between solo and pool mining depends entirely on your appetite for steady, small payouts versus the “lottery” chance at a full block reward.

Bitaxe Hardware Comparison

Feature	Bitaxe Ultra	Bitaxe Supra	Bitaxe Gamma
ASIC Chip	BM1366	BM1368	BM1370
Hash Rate	~400–500 GH/s	~600–700 GH/s	~1.1–1.3 TH/s
Efficiency	~25–40 J/TH	~20–30 J/TH	~13–15 J/TH
Power Draw	11W – 20W	15W – 25W	~15W – 20W
Best For	Beginners, budget learning	Entry-level lottery mining	Maximum efficiency hobby mining

Solo vs. Pool Mining Overview

Solo Mining: You point your Bitaxe toward a solo mining pool or node (like Solo CKPool or Public Pool). If your miner’s hash happens to match the network difficulty, you receive the entire Bitcoin block reward (3.125 BTC). It is essentially a lottery ticket; your odds are very low, but the payout is massive.
Pool Mining: You contribute your hashing power to a larger pool along with thousands of other miners. When the pool solves a block, you are paid a fraction of the reward proportional to your hash rate. This yields frequent, predictable, and tiny daily payouts.

10 Real-World Examples: Solo vs. Pool Mining

Bitaxe Ultra – Solo Mining: You plug in your Ultra and connect to Solo CKPool. You have a slim statistical chance to hit a block (roughly 1-in-a-million odds at any given moment). If you hit it, you win the 3.125 BTC block reward. If not, you earn zero.
Bitaxe Ultra – Pool Mining: You point your Ultra to a PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares) pool. You earn small daily fractions of a cent ($0.01 to $0.05 per day depending on BTC price and network difficulty), but the payouts are consistent and steady.
Bitaxe Supra – Solo Mining: You use a solo-mining website with a customized low difficulty setting so your device submits shares frequently to verify it is working. You spend pennies on electricity while gambling on the ultimate lottery jackpot.
Bitaxe Supra – Pool Mining: You pool your ~650 GH/s together with thousands of others. This smooths out your mining variance, turning a “lottery ticket” into a predictable micro-income stream to help offset power costs.
Bitaxe Gamma – Solo Mining: Running at 1.1 TH/s, your Gamma has about a 1-in-6,000 chance per year to solve a Bitcoin block. It’s still a lottery, but with roughly double the hash rate of an Ultra, your odds are significantly better.
Bitaxe Gamma – Pool Mining: Because the Gamma is highly efficient (consuming ~15-20W), pool mining becomes slightly more practical here than with older models. You can expect reliable, though still micro-level, daily earnings deposited directly into your wallet.
The Enthusiast’s Solo Strategy: You configure a personal Bitcoin node locally and utilize Public Pool’s block templates. This gives you “zero ping” (lowest latency), meaning your Bitaxe rarely rejects shares, keeping your odds at that 3.125 BTC reward as optimal as physically possible.
The Cost-Effective Pool Strategy: You run your Bitaxe Supra on cheap solar power at your home. You join a pool to avoid “dry spells,” ensuring your free energy translates into consistent fractional Bitcoin rewards with zero out-of-pocket overhead.
The “Lottery” Hobbyist: You own 3 Bitaxe Gamma units and run them in solo mode on Public Pool. You know the odds of hitting a block are low, but the thrill of potentially winning a full block reward is your primary goal as a hobbyist.
The Educational Learner: You purchase a Bitaxe Ultra for educational purposes. You alternate between solo and pool mining for a few weeks each to understand how difficulty targets, share submissions, and pool latency work on a live dashboard.

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