Bitcoin mining does not need to be expensive. The Blockstream Jade hardware wallet can be used to mine bitcoin and purchased for less than £75. We’ve set one up to see if we can be successful in mining bitcoin for less than the price of a family shop.
Entering into the world of cryptocurrency mining can sound daunting. Sourcing an ASIC miner and setting it up correctly is only half of the battle. Profitability must be calculated. Otherwise, a prospective miner may end up paying more to mine than the proceeds generated from the activity.
The costs associated with mining are an instant deterrent for most. But what if you could do it for less than £100?
Blockstream has created a Firmware update allowing their hardware wallet to become a bitcoin miner. We got our hands on one to see how complex the process is and if it can be a successful endeavour.
The costs associated with mining are an instant deterrent for most. But what if you could do it for less than £100?
Blockstream has created a Firmware update allowing their hardware wallet to become a bitcoin miner. We got our hands on one to see how complex the process is and if it can be a successful endeavour.
The Blockstream Jade
The Blockstream Jade is a bitcoin-only hardware wallet produced by Blockstream. It is marketed as a cheap route of secure storage for bitcoiners looking for a way to hard store their assets. The Jade offers a dedicated companion application on mobile and desktop but is also compatible with other bitcoin wallets, such as Sparrow Wallet and Electrum.
The hardware wallet aspect is well thought out. The wallet software is open source, allowing for full code audits. There is also a camera built in, allowing for fully air-gapped transactions. An air-gapped wallet signs all transactions offline, interacting with online devices only though QR codes or memory cards. This increases the Jade’s security as it never needs to connect to the internet. The Jades security model also simulates the protection of a secure element, protecting it from physical attacks.
The downsides are the build quality, the casing feels plasticky and vulnerable to breakage if dropped, but it is a cheap device, making it ideal for a beginner within the space.
The hardware wallet aspect is well thought out. The wallet software is open source, allowing for full code audits. There is also a camera built in, allowing for fully air-gapped transactions. An air-gapped wallet signs all transactions offline, interacting with online devices only though QR codes or memory cards. This increases the Jade’s security as it never needs to connect to the internet. The Jades security model also simulates the protection of a secure element, protecting it from physical attacks.
The downsides are the build quality, the casing feels plasticky and vulnerable to breakage if dropped, but it is a cheap device, making it ideal for a beginner within the space.
How to Mine Bitcoin for Less Than £100
The Blockstream Jade is shipped in a small black box with small silver Blockstream security tape on either end of the box. If this has been tampered with upon receipt, do not use the Jade. The device may have been compromised by malicious actors.
Within the box are two pieces of paper, a USB-C to USB-A lead and the Jade. One piece of paper will be for setting up your new Jade; the other will be for recording your seed phrase on. For this exercise, we will use neither of these pieces of paper.
You do not need to set your Jade up as a hardware wallet to begin mining on it. The one used in this example has been set up as a miner only.
You do not need to set your Jade up as a hardware wallet to begin mining on it. The one used in this example has been set up as a miner only.
Click the following link to set up your Blockstream Jade as a miner. This will take you through to a page where you will be asked to change the firmware on your Jade.
At this point, you will be required to plug your Jade into your computer to install the new firmware. You will get a choice of two firmware upgrades. Which you choose is down to you. We chose the ‘0.1.47-miner No-Radio (full)’ version for this example.
This is the Bluetooth-less version. There is unlikely any weak spot in the Jade due to Bluetooth, but you can never be too safe. Ledger has written about vulnerabilities within Bluetooth low energy devices, and other devices, such as the ColdCard, pride themselves on not having Bluetooth capabilities. This grey area around the addition of Bluetooth was enough to put us off having the option for it.
This is the Bluetooth-less version. There is unlikely any weak spot in the Jade due to Bluetooth, but you can never be too safe. Ledger has written about vulnerabilities within Bluetooth low energy devices, and other devices, such as the ColdCard, pride themselves on not having Bluetooth capabilities. This grey area around the addition of Bluetooth was enough to put us off having the option for it.
Once you have selected the software, you need to confirm the version then a new window will appear. The browser will attempt to connect to a serial port on your device. Select the Jade from the list in the window and click connect. This will start the firmware upgrade process. The screen on the Jade will ask if you want to update the firmware. Select the tick box with the scrolling wheel on the top of the device and confirm.
Your computer screen will then look like this.
And the Jade will look like this.
Once the update has been uploaded into the Jade, you are ready to mine.
The next step is to click the link and start your Blockstrean Jade mining bitcoin. You need to make sure you are using a web browser which supports Web Serial (this is the ability of a website to read and write on a device with Javascript). A good browser to use is Google Chrome.
Once you have this page open and your Jade connected, you’ll need to input the address you would like the proceeds of your mining sent to.
Once the update has been uploaded into the Jade, you are ready to mine.
The next step is to click the link and start your Blockstrean Jade mining bitcoin. You need to make sure you are using a web browser which supports Web Serial (this is the ability of a website to read and write on a device with Javascript). A good browser to use is Google Chrome.
Once you have this page open and your Jade connected, you’ll need to input the address you would like the proceeds of your mining sent to.
This will need to be an address on the Bitcoin network. You cannot send the proceeds of mining bitcoin to an Ethereum address, for example.
Once inputted your Jade will begin mining bitcoin automatically. It will continue mining until it is either rebooted or receives a message from the computer to stop.
If the Jade is unplugged from the computer without rebooting it or telling it to stop, it will continue hashing, but it will be unable to mine for bitcoin as it is not connected to anything. So remember to turn it off.
Once inputted your Jade will begin mining bitcoin automatically. It will continue mining until it is either rebooted or receives a message from the computer to stop.
If the Jade is unplugged from the computer without rebooting it or telling it to stop, it will continue hashing, but it will be unable to mine for bitcoin as it is not connected to anything. So remember to turn it off.
When your Jade is set up, it will look something like this.
The top line shows you which block it is currently mining. You can tell if the Jade has disconnected by using a block explorer to track the current block number. Blockchain.com gives a detailed view of the state of bitcoin, bits.monospace.live shows bitcoin in a much easier-to-digest format.
The Hash Rate, currently recorded as 81187h/s, is the number of guesses per second the Jade is making, and the Block Reward shows how many sats the successful miner will gain from mining the block. Finally, the final line shows the address to which the bitcoin will be sent if the miner is successful.
The top line shows you which block it is currently mining. You can tell if the Jade has disconnected by using a block explorer to track the current block number. Blockchain.com gives a detailed view of the state of bitcoin, bits.monospace.live shows bitcoin in a much easier-to-digest format.
The Hash Rate, currently recorded as 81187h/s, is the number of guesses per second the Jade is making, and the Block Reward shows how many sats the successful miner will gain from mining the block. Finally, the final line shows the address to which the bitcoin will be sent if the miner is successful.
What is the Likelihood of Mining a Block?
Mining, on a PoW network, is the process of adding a new block to the blockchain. This is done by ‘solving’ a complex mathematical problem. Each attempt at solving the equation is known as a hash. If the correct guess is made, then the block is deemed mined, the transactions packaged inside are classed as confirmed, and the process starts again. The amount of guesses per second that a miner can make is known as the hash rate. The more hash rate a miner generates, the more likely they are to mine a block.
[In reality, this process works a little differently. Each miner must successfully guess a number which is less than or equal to the target of the block. To do this, a miner will generate a random number, add it to the header of the block, hash it then compare it to the target hash. If the resulting hash is less than or equal to the target hash, then the block is deemed mined, and the block reward is awarded to the miner. If not, then the miner will make another guess using the same process, continuing until a miner correctly mines a block.]
We can determine how likely we are to mine a block by looking at the hash rate of the network and comparing it to the hash rate that our Blockstream Jade can attain.
At the time of writing, the bitcoin blockchain has an estimated hash rate of 356,150,796.174 TH/s. As you can see above, the Blockstream Jade has a hash rate of just over 80,000 H/s. One Terahash is equivalent to 1 trillion hashes per second (1,000,000,000,000 H/s). To determine the percentage of the network hash rate we are producing, we need to divide our hash rate by the total hash rate and then multiply by 100.
80,000/356,150,796,174,000,000,000 ≈ 2.25x10^-16 = 0.000000000000000225
2.25x10^-16 x 100 = 2.25x10^-14 = 0.0000000000000225%
Note that 0.0000000000000225% is approximately equal to 1 in 4444444444444444.44 (4.44x10^15)
This means that with each block, we have a 1 in 4.44x10^15 (4444444444444444.44) chance of successfully mining it. If one block is mined every 10 minutes in perpetuity, this means that we will successfully mine a block every ~84,559,445,290 years.
[In reality, this process works a little differently. Each miner must successfully guess a number which is less than or equal to the target of the block. To do this, a miner will generate a random number, add it to the header of the block, hash it then compare it to the target hash. If the resulting hash is less than or equal to the target hash, then the block is deemed mined, and the block reward is awarded to the miner. If not, then the miner will make another guess using the same process, continuing until a miner correctly mines a block.]
We can determine how likely we are to mine a block by looking at the hash rate of the network and comparing it to the hash rate that our Blockstream Jade can attain.
At the time of writing, the bitcoin blockchain has an estimated hash rate of 356,150,796.174 TH/s. As you can see above, the Blockstream Jade has a hash rate of just over 80,000 H/s. One Terahash is equivalent to 1 trillion hashes per second (1,000,000,000,000 H/s). To determine the percentage of the network hash rate we are producing, we need to divide our hash rate by the total hash rate and then multiply by 100.
80,000/356,150,796,174,000,000,000 ≈ 2.25x10^-16 = 0.000000000000000225
2.25x10^-16 x 100 = 2.25x10^-14 = 0.0000000000000225%
Note that 0.0000000000000225% is approximately equal to 1 in 4444444444444444.44 (4.44x10^15)
This means that with each block, we have a 1 in 4.44x10^15 (4444444444444444.44) chance of successfully mining it. If one block is mined every 10 minutes in perpetuity, this means that we will successfully mine a block every ~84,559,445,290 years.
What is the point?
Using the Blockstream Jade to mine, bitcoin clearly is unlikely to be a fruitful route for those looking for their retirement fund. So why should you do it?
Well, first of all. You get 80,000 chances per second to mine a bitcoin. This is what is known as lottery mining. For a minimal initial investment, you get around 80,000 guesses per second until the miner breaks. If it pays off, it could be a significant windfall, if not the initial outlay was not huge. Just like a lottery ticket.
Secondly, the Jade is a good, cheap bitcoin wallet. Having this multipurpose feature is something of a gimmick, but it is an excellent way to educate yourself practically about the bitcoin network and mining. It is a fun activity to do before reverting the miner to its initial function.
Thirdly, a Jade set up in this manner allows a user to track the bitcoin network. It provides real-time updates to the block height and reward. This will give you insights into bitcoin and the network.
Well, first of all. You get 80,000 chances per second to mine a bitcoin. This is what is known as lottery mining. For a minimal initial investment, you get around 80,000 guesses per second until the miner breaks. If it pays off, it could be a significant windfall, if not the initial outlay was not huge. Just like a lottery ticket.
Secondly, the Jade is a good, cheap bitcoin wallet. Having this multipurpose feature is something of a gimmick, but it is an excellent way to educate yourself practically about the bitcoin network and mining. It is a fun activity to do before reverting the miner to its initial function.
Thirdly, a Jade set up in this manner allows a user to track the bitcoin network. It provides real-time updates to the block height and reward. This will give you insights into bitcoin and the network.
Did We Mine a Bitcoin?
No. We tried for four days and were unsuccessful. We haven't stopped trying, though.
If you want to try mining bitcoin with the Blockstream Jade, use our link and add code CSE at checkout for 10% off.
If you want to try mining bitcoin with the Blockstream Jade, use our link and add code CSE at checkout for 10% off.
Leave a comment
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.