Blake2b miners for XBT: which ASICs work, and when renting fits better

By the TideHash team · 19 October 2026 · 7 min read

XBT is mined with BLAKE2b, so only BLAKE2b hardware can mine it. In practice that means Sia-generation ASICs, first built for Siacoin. This guide lists the models people ask about, what their rated numbers mean for power and heat, and how owning a machine compares with renting Blake2b hashrate.

The one rule: BLAKE2b yes, SHA-256 no

XBT switched its proof of work from SHA-256d to BLAKE2b at block 961,640. The chain's own miners guide says SHA-256d hardware cannot produce valid blocks on the current chain, and that BLAKE2b and BLAKE2b-sia hardware can be used. It names the Antminer A3, Goldshell SC5 Pro and Goldshell SC Lite as examples.

The trap is that a Bitcoin miner looks like it is working. B2Pool's hardware page explains that an Antminer S19, S21 or Whatsminer will connect and look busy while the pool rejects every share. No firmware changes that, because SHA-256 is built into the chip. Rented hashrate follows the same rule: Blake2b (sometimes listed as Sia or SC), never SHA-256.

If you own Sia hardware, you don't need to reflash it. B2Pool and AlphaPool both say stock Sia firmware works with the usual three fields: pool URL, payout address as the worker, and a password.

Blake2b ASICs at a glance

The table uses the rated BLAKE2b figures B2Pool lists for each model. These are manufacturer numbers, not measurements on XBT. J/TH is power divided by hashrate, which is the energy a machine uses for each terahash of work.

A few notes before you rely on these numbers:

• Ratings differ by source. BT-Miners and AlphaPool list the BM-S3+ at 25 TH/s, B2Pool at 24 TH/s.
• HS models need Sia mode. B2Pool notes the BLAKE2b rate is roughly double the Handshake figure on the box: an HS5 sold as 2.7 TH/s does 5.4 TH/s.
• Listed is not the same as tested. BT-Miners' XBT mining guide separates models named by a pool or the project (such as BM-S3+, SC Lite, SC5 Pro and HS5 in Sia mode) from ones still pending verification, such as the SC5 Pro II and SC6 SE. Test a new machine on a low-difficulty port first.
• Obelisk SC1 Gen 2 is a special case. B2Pool reports its stock firmware refuses this chain's work and documents workarounds. First-generation units connect normally.

What the numbers mean at home

A miner running all day uses its wattage times 24 hours:

• A Goldshell SC Lite at 950 W uses about 22.8 kWh per day.
• An iBeLink BM-S3+ at 3,400 W uses about 81.6 kWh per day.

Multiply that by your own electricity tariff to get your daily running cost. BT-Miners works through the same example: at $0.10 per kWh, the SC Lite costs $2.28 a day and the BM-S3+ $8.16, before cooling, repairs and the machine itself. Nearly all of that power ends up as heat, so 3,000 W-class units need a circuit, cooling and noise control sized for them.

Efficiency matters too: B2Pool points out that an Antminer A3 draws eleven times the power of a BM-S3+ for the same work.

How much of the network is one machine?

On 19 October 2026 the mempool.kilombino.com XBT explorer showed a network hashrate of about 43.5 PH/s (43,500 TH/s) at block height 977,963. On those numbers:

• One BM-S3+ at 24 TH/s is about 0.055% of all XBT mining.
• One SC Lite at 4.4 TH/s is about 0.01%.

That is why most people mine through a pool, which splits block rewards by contributed work. Network hashrate changes daily, so check the explorer.

Buying a machine vs renting hashrate

Both put Blake2b work on your pool. They differ in commitment and upkeep.

Neither route guarantees an outcome: what a pool pays depends on network difficulty, pool luck and its own rules. Owning suits you if you have cheap, reliable power, room for the heat and noise, and want hardware for the long run. Renting suits you if you want to try XBT mining, test a pool or gateway, or add hashrate for a few hours without housing a machine.

Sizing a rental against real hardware

The XBT mining calculator shows what a rental of a given size costs and what share of the network it is.

The rated figures make a handy yardstick. Renting 4.4 TH/s is roughly one SC Lite's worth of work, and 24 TH/s is roughly one BM-S3+. On TideHash you set speed in TH/s, duration in hours and a price in USD per TH/s per day, and the form shows the total before you pay. Bids are served in strict price order: the highest bid gets hashrate first, and lower bids wait at 0 TH/s until the higher ones are full. If you are outbid, your order keeps every hour you paid for and simply finishes later.

Some pools accept a starting difficulty in the password field for large rented rigs. B2Pool suggests d=700000 for 100 TH/s. Our pool settings guide covers ports, worker names and backup pools.

Running your own gateway? Same fields

If you run your own Bitcoin Knots node and DATUM gateway, owned and rented hashrate connect the same way. Miners point at the gateway's stratum port (23334 in the chain's miners guide), and the gateway points at the pool. For RIPTIDE, the DATUM endpoint on its How to connect page is riptide.maveth.ca:29120 (minimum difficulty 2048). That address goes in the gateway config, not in the order form:

# TideHash order form
Pool URL:  your-gateway-ip:23334
Pool user: youraccount::rig01
Password:  x

# datum_gateway config (gateway to pool)
"pool_host": "riptide.maveth.ca",
"pool_port": 29120

Something owners and renters share: coinbase maturity

Newly mined XBT can't be spent straight away. RIPTIDE's FAQ says a long coinbase maturity of 6,480 blocks (about 45 days) applies from block 973,440 through 979,919, and DxPool also mentions the roughly 45-day wait. That applies whether the work came from your own machine or a rental.

Before you mine

Use a payout address from a wallet set up for the XBT chain. DxPool notes that XBT addresses look exactly like Bitcoin addresses, so it's easy to paste the wrong one. Then judge delivery by accepted shares on your pool. New to the coin? Read What is XBT?. Ready to order? Follow How to rent Blake2b hashrate.

Sources

• Bitcoin BIP110 miners guide: activation block, hardware examples, port 23334
• B2Pool hardware page: model ratings, SHA-256 rejection, HS and SC1 notes
• BT-Miners XBT mining guide: listed vs pending models, ratings, power cost
• AlphaPool (pool now closed): stock firmware, BM-S3+ rating
• RIPTIDE: DATUM endpoint, coinbase maturity
• DxPool help center: address format, coinbase maturity
• mempool.kilombino.com: network hashrate, height (19 Oct 2026)

Ready to try it? Rent Blake2b hashrate from 1 TH/s, or check the Blake2b hashrate price today. Questions? Ask in our Discord.