Bitaxe Gamma 601 Home Bitcoin Miner Review

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When I’m not helping clients with their crypto queries I occasionally delve into the geekier side of Bitcoin.

Intrigued by the recent explosion in home Bitcoin mining, I acquired a Bitaxe Gamma 601 – one of the most popular devices on the market at the time of writing (March 2025).

This tiny device punches well above its weight; on board is a BM1370 ASIC chip designed for the SHA-256 algorithm, ie mining Bitcoin (and a few other tokens). The chip, more commonly found in the professional Antminer S21 mining unit, delivers a hashrate of 1.2Th/s from a power draw of just 18 watts.

Because of its impressive performance and efficiency it’s taken the so-called home mining market by storm, with thousands of Bitaxe units now linked up to mining pools.

However, many people are choosing to mine solo, meaning they don’t get daily rewards but if they successfully find a block they get to keep the entire reward (minus fees).

Lottery Mining

This type of enterprise is often referred to as lottery mining. It’s a term used to describe low hashrate miners that have a chance – albeit a very, very small one – of mining a block and scooping a whopping 3.25 Bitcoins every ten minutes or so.

If you search for lottery miners on sites such as AliExpress you’ll find dozens available, many of which plug into the USB port of your computer and deliver a sub 100Gh/s hashrate. They are sold under various brands and will set you back around £20.

Because of the low performance, these devices are seen more as toys for Bitcoin enthusiasts rather than serious mining devices. Some mining pools actively discourage their use because they drain bandwidth and do not have a realistic chance of solving a block.

This is not the case with the new generation of Bitaxe miners – the open-source project has raised the bar when it comes to home Bitcoin mining.

Look online and you’ll find hundreds of photos posted by enthusiasts who’ve set up miniature Bitcoin mining farms using an array of these devices.

Going Solo

Although most people are using them to solo mine, as I’ve already mentioned, some are choosing to contribute their hashrate in return for a share of pooled earnings.

At the time of writing, this reward was around 50-60 satoshis a day based on a single Bitaxe Gamma 601 running in the UK. Given the cost of the device itself and the electricity used to power it, you’re unlikely to ever make a profit.

Some ingenious tinkerers have managed to run their devices using solar power, but again, the cost of the initial set up far outweighs potential earnings unless you choose to solo mine and are lucky enough to find a block.

Up until recently mining Bitcoin has been out of reach for anyone who doesn’t own a huge ‘farm’ of high-powered ASIC machines. But the Bitaxe goes some way to redress the balance, even if the chances of ever making any money are extremely small.

However, if you put the dreams of hitting the Bitcoin jackpot to one side, you should keep in mind that running a Bitaxe or similar device means you’re doing your bit to secure the Bitcoin network.

You’ll be helping to ensure that the computing power to do so is more evenly distributed rather than being centralised among the big names in Bitcoin mining.

Block Found By Bitaxe

This doesn’t mean you should give up hope of hitting a block though. In March 2025 an earlier model Bitaxe with a sub-1Th/s hashrate successfully mined a block and gave its owner a huge payout, despite the downturn in crypto prices at the time.

They were mining solo on CK Pool which, despite its name, allows people to mine without pooling the rewards.

This is the same for Public Pool as well which was already set up on my device when it arrived. All I had to do was connect it to my wi-fi and add my own Bitcoin address for receiving rewards and it was ready to go.

Adding your own wallet address is crucial. If you do find a block the Bitcoin reward will be sent to this address. If the information is incorrect you will lose the reward.

You can get a free Bitcoin wallet address from one of the many apps available, or you can use an address from a Bitcoin hardware wallet. An exchange address is also fine, but the provider will ultimately have control over  your coins which puts off a lot of people from using this option.

The beauty of the Bitaxe is that it’s so easy to use and you don’t even need a computer to get it up and running – a mobile phone will suffice.

It’s also extremely non-technical which means anyone with average computer and crypto knowledge can have one of these fired up and mining away on their desk within a few minutes.

Where To Buy A Bitaxe

At the time of writing, the Bitaxe Gamma 601 was retailing for approximately £199. I secured mine from The Solo Mining Co, a London-based supplier of home Bitcoin mining machines and accessories.

It is possible to find it cheaper on sites such as AliExpress, but I’d heard mixed reviews about delivery time and device packaging so decided to pay slightly more and use a UK company.

Delivery was super-fast and I secured a 15% discount by paying in Bitcoin – a promotion that applies to anything bought from this company.

The model I bought came with an upgraded fan, ideal for those that wish to play around with overclocking the device to achieve a higher hashrate, and a bolt on ‘BitHalo’ case that emits a customisable coloured light whenever the Bitaxe submits a share.

The support from The Solo Mining Co was also amazing. I had a minor set up issue when my Bitaxe arrived but Duncan responded in lightning speed with a solution which had everything up and running within a matter a minutes.

I would definitely choose to buy from this company again to save myself from the potential headache of a marketplace supplier even if it means paying slightly more.

Is The Bitaxe Gamma Worth It?

The answer to this question all depends on why you’re looking to buy the miner in the first place.

If you’re pinning your hopes on striking it rich then no, it isn’t, as the chances of this happening are extremely remote and it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll spend more on electricity and the cost of the device (£169.99 at the time of writing) than you’ll ever get back.

However, if you like the idea of participating in the demoncratisation of Bitcoin while playing around with mining technology with the added bonus of having a kind of forever lottery running in your home that could hit the jackpot, then I’d say the Bitaxe is a brilliant project.

Also, there is a very active community of enthusiasts and tinkerers who post about their micro mining farms and the modifications they’re making to their devices, while offering support and advice to newbies and experienced users alike.

As long as you understand the probability of finding a block with a Bitaxe before you buy one then I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in crypto and blockchain technology.