Cormint Secret Weapon: BiXBiT’s Highly Effective Custom Firmware for Bitcoin Mining
About BiXBiT
At BiXBiT, we’ve been pushing the boundaries of Bitcoin mining since 2016, focusing on innovations like our groundbreaking liquid immersion cooling systems. In 2018 we created our own firmware for Whatsminer®, enhancing its performance quietly behind the scenes.
Cormint meets BiXBiT
Our encounter with Cormint at a Miami mining event marked a pivotal moment. They were operating 25MW of Whatsminer M30S and M30S++ series since August, 2022 and were immediately interested in our solution to speed up miner reboot times. This case study reflects our journey, emphasizing the mutual growth and innovation between BiXBiT and Cormint, and setting the stage for future advancements in bitcoin mining.
The Pilot
- Model: Whatsminer M30S++ VH85 110T
- Quantity: 4,600
- Cooling: Immersion
- Start date: 07/01/2023
- End date: 03/01/2024
The Challenge
- Whatsminers stock firmware autotune process takes 20-30 minutes.
- Each curtailment event leads to approximately 1% loss in daily mining income.
The Objective
Minimize hash rate loss during post-curtailment boot up.
Variables
- Time to reach nameplate hash rate at nameplate efficiency (min)
- Power consumed from energization until reaching nameplate hash rate (W) at nameplate efficiency
KPI
- Time to fully-tuned boot defined as the time to reach nameplate hash rate at nameplate efficiency. (lower is better)
“On average our switching losses lowered from 10 minutes to 4 which is a 60% reduction in lost revenue.”
Results
For the testing we compared our firmware vs stock firmware in normal mode and quick boot mode. For power we measured consumption at the wall and for hash rate we measured in the miner GUI.
BiXBiT firmware on M30S++ VH85 110T
Time to Fully Tuned Boot Results
| Metrics | BiXBiT | Stock (normal) | Stock (quick) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to fully tuned boot (minutes) | 4 | 20 | 14 |
| Final Power (W) | 3809 | 3795 | 3810 |
| Final Hash Rate (TH/s) | 112.28 | 111.21 | 112.5 |
Minute by minute results
| Time (Mins) | BiXBiT Power (W) | BiXBiT TH/s | Stock (normal) Power (W) | Stock (normal) TH/s | Stock (quick) Power (W) | Stock (quick) TH/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2409 | 63.57 | 266 | 0 | 274 | 0 |
| 2 | 3458 | 95.09 | 263 | 0 | 3751 | 1.33 |
| 3 | 3687 | 60 | 2991 | 9.01 | 3470 | 0.82 |
| 4 | 3818 | 112.09 | 3593 | 10.56 | 3803 | 4.72 |
| 5 | 3820 | 111.05 | 3499 | 8.2 | 3718 | 10.5 |
| 6 | 3815 | 113.01 | 3566 | 8.66 | 3507 | 14.1 |
| 7 | 3805 | 110.5 | 3559 | 11.57 | 3474 | 17.18 |
| 8 | 3811 | 111.7 | 3620 | 10.54 | 3585 | 19.67 |
| 9 | 3813 | 110 | 3636 | 9.56 | 3707 | 19.66 |
| 10 | 3810 | 110.8 | 3703 | 12.57 | 3560 | 17.23 |
| 11 | 3815 | 112.21 | 3714 | 12.64 | 3676 | 15.23 |
| 12 | 3820 | 112.52 | 3701 | 12.27 | 3698 | 108.86 |
| 13 | 3819 | 113.23 | 3698 | 12.14 | 3719 | 108.94 |
| 14 | 3814 | 113.28 | 3708 | 12.51 | 3725 | 109.17 |
| 15 | 3816 | 112.75 | 3713 | 12.48 | 3737 | 110.26 |
| 16 | 3799 | 112.79 | 3724 | 14.56 | 3760 | 110.82 |
| 17 | 3801 | 113.02 | 3753 | 14.37 | 3792 | 111.64 |
| 18 | 3797 | 112.98 | 3706 | 14.03 | 3802 | 112.89 |
| 19 | 3805 | 112.58 | 3717 | 111.21 | 3808 | 112.75 |
| 20 | 3809 | 112.28 | 3795 | 111.21 | 3810 | 112.5 |
BiXBiT firmware on M50 VH40 118T
Time to Fully Tuned Boot Results
| Metrics | BiXBiT | Stock (normal) | Stock (quick) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to fully tuned boot (minutes) | 3 | 16 | 5 |
| Final Power (W) | 3775 | 3838 | 3733 |
| Final Hash Rate (TH/s) | 118.02 | 118.92 | 111.39 |
Minute by minute results
| Time (Mins) | BiXBiT Power (W) | BiXBiT TH/s | Stock (normal) Power (W) | Stock (normal) TH/s | Stock (quick) Power (W) | Stock (quick) TH/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2332 | 76.33 | 313 | 0 | 2766 | 0 |
| 2 | 3444 | 85.35 | 1638 | 46 | 3759 | 52 |
| 3 | 3640 | 2.88 | 3360 | 11.57 | 3750 | 2.88 |
| 4 | 3819 | 118.51 | 3566 | 9.73 | 3832 | 8.54 |
| 5 | 3822 | 118.95 | 3619 | 7.65 | 3714 | 111.15 |
| 6 | 3814 | 118.72 | 3749 | 9.6 | 3726 | 111.56 |
| 7 | 3807 | 118.77 | 3759 | 14.24 | 3711 | 111.44 |
| 8 | 3801 | 118.64 | 3829 | 14.71 | 3733 | 111.3 |
| 9 | 3778 | 117.99 | 3802 | 14.82 | 3723 | 111.27 |
| 10 | 3781 | 118.22 | 3816 | 14.95 | 3746 | 111.29 |
| 11 | 3764 | 118.02 | 3832 | 14.51 | 3765 | 111.31 |
| 12 | 3769 | 118.13 | 3826 | 14.35 | 3747 | 111.38 |
| 13 | 3778 | 118.35 | 3805 | 14.03 | 3737 | 111.44 |
| 14 | 3783 | 118.43 | 3867 | 14.6 | 3733 | 111.39 |
| 15 | 3789 | 118.47 | 3889 | 14.98 | 3738 | 111.56 |
| 16 | 3791 | 118.55 | 3861 | 14.82 | 3752 | 111.59 |
| 17 | 3799 | 118.51 | 3843 | 118.95 | 3746 | 111.51 |
| 18 | 3786 | 118.52 | 3838 | 118.92 | 3749 | 111.44 |
| 19 | 3782 | 118.23 | 3822 | 118.79 | 3740 | 111.42 |
| 20 | 3775 | 118.02 | 3803 | 118.89 | 3733 | 111.39 |
“It’s been great to work with the BiXBiT team and iterate on this valuable firmware. The firmware enables us to efficiently use Whatsminers in curtailment events, which are frequent if you’re maximizing gross profit in West Texas.”
Try the BiXBiT Firmware Today
Reach fully tuned speeds 66% faster compared to stock firmware.
Future plans for BiXBiT firmware
In April we will release firmware for Whatsminer M6X series. Contact us to receive an email when we release it.
Did you know we offer a fully featured remote monitoring solution for ASIC’s? Even better, it’s 100% free when you use the BiXBiT firmware.
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