NerdMiner v2 review — solo Bitcoin miner for the desk
The NerdMiner is not a serious Bitcoin miner — that's not the point. It's an educational device that makes the workings of Bitcoin mining tangible.
NerdMiner v2 review
The NerdMiner is an ESP32 microcontroller with a small screen that mines on the Bitcoin network. The chance of finding a block is astronomically small. That’s also not the point.
What is the NerdMiner?
The NerdMiner v2 runs open-source firmware on an ESP32 chip. It connects via Wi-Fi to a Bitcoin solo mining pool (default: ckpool.org) and tries to find blocks. Every second it calculates hash values — the hash rate is around 50–80 kH/s.
For comparison: the total Bitcoin network runs at ~800 EH/s. That is 800,000,000,000,000,000 hashes per second. The NerdMiner does 60,000 per second. The chance of finding a block is comparable to winning the lottery while being struck by lightning simultaneously.
The community knows this. The NerdMiner is not bought as a profitable miner.
Specifications
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Chip | ESP32-S3 |
| Hash rate | ~50–80 kH/s |
| Display | 1.9” TFT colour screen |
| Connection | Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz) |
| Power | USB-C (5V) |
| Firmware | Open-source (NerdMiner_v2 on GitHub) |
| Power consumption | ~1–2W |
| Price | €29.95 |
What you see on screen
The screen shows live: current hash rate, total hashes, uptime, pool connection status, and number of shares found. In the community there are people who run the NerdMiner for months without ever finding a block — and are perfectly fine with that.
Why people buy it
Educational: You see how mining works. The firmware is readable, the pool communication is visible, the statistics are real-time. For someone understanding how Bitcoin works, this is more concrete than an explanation.
Conversation starter: A small device on your desk mining Bitcoin attracts attention. Easier to explain than an abstract wallet.
Collection/hobby: The ESP32 community builds variants with different screens, 3D-printed enclosures, and custom firmware. There are dozens of variants on GitHub.
Lottery ticket: In the community, a found block is seen as a historic event. There are people who seriously try with multiple devices — fully understanding that the odds are vanishingly small.
Updating firmware
The NerdMiner runs actively maintained open-source firmware. Updates are straightforward via the web flasher at nerdminer.io or through Arduino IDE. The firmware regularly adds features: new pool support, UI improvements, statistics.
Caveats
This is not an investment. Electricity costs (~1–2W, ~€0.20/month) will theoretically never be offset by mining returns. That is the trade-off you make consciously.
No hardware wallet function. The NerdMiner doesn’t store Bitcoin and has no secure element. Use a Trezor Safe 3 for storing crypto.
Conclusion
The NerdMiner does what it promises: an ESP32 doing Bitcoin mining, with a readable screen and actively maintained firmware. You don’t buy it to get rich but to understand how mining works, or simply because it’s a fun device.
See also:
- Trezor Safe 3 review — for securely storing Bitcoin and crypto