China bitcoin mining hardware: What to source, where to source

China, the source of more than two-thirds of the world's bitcoin mining processing power, is also the biggest supplier of a varied range of cryptocurrency mining hardware and components. These include ASIC bitcoin and USB dongle miners, power supplies, ASICs, and fans and cooling systems.

Almost all of China's bitcoin mining hardware suppliers are based in Guangdong province, one of the country's traditional manufacturing hubs.

Shenzhen, specifically, can be considered the center of cryptocurrency mining hardware production in China, acting as home to manufacturing and assembly facilities of big-brand mining machines.

In an SCMP article, Sidney Leng wrote about "Alex," a businessman from Russa who scoured central Shenzhen for China’s best-priced bitcoin equipment. Instead, Alex "there simply were too many small mining-machine retailers from which to choose."

The article went on to describe the SEG Plaza in Huaqiangbei where sellers of mining machines have taken over spaces used to be occupied by vendors of computer components. Huaqiangbei is a huge electronics parts market in Shenzhen’s Futian district.

OEM selection
This is not to say that bitcoin equipment from China is available only on a retail basis.

The country is also home to a large pool of OEM suppliers of mining hardware. For instance, a quick GlobalSources.com search for bitcoin miners alone turns out more than 60 suppliers and nearly 230 products.

In fact, most, if not all, China bitcoin mining hardware companies listed on GlobalSources.com and other B2B sites make their products on an OEM basis.

Such designs start at $500 and can go as high as several thousand dollars. Price depends on the parts and components used, including the chipset and graphic card, which dictates computing power. Avalon mining chips, for instance, account for 70 to 80 percent of production costs. Around the end of 2017, Avalon chips went for about $1,000.

Products can carry a warranty, usually ranging from three to 12 months. A ChinaImportal.com article, however, warns that a warranty could simply mean suppliers have included in the shipment a few spare parts that the buyer will end up paying for.

It is rare for China-made models to comply with product regulations and safety standards specific to bitcoin mining hardware. Claims of such should be checked and verified when vetting potential suppliers.

Products, however, are subject to the usual regulations and standards for electronics, including EMC, RoHS, CE, WEEE, FCC and UL.

Source China-made cryptocurrency miners:
Bitcoin miner with 189 ASICs supports 14TH/s
Bitcoin miner with 11.5TH/s capacity
Ethereum mining device has 215MH/s hash rate

Big-brand miners available
Buyers looking to get branded bitcoin miners in China will also find a varied selection of models, many of which carry one of these three brands: AntMiner, AvalonMiner and Ebit.

The AntMiner range is from Bitmain, which runs two of the largest bitcoin mining collectives and is believed to have manufactured 70 percent of bitcoin mining rigs in operation today.

The AntMiner S9 is said to be the most efficient consumer-grade mining machine, with a hash rate reaching 14TH/S. It consumes about 0.1 joules of energy per gigahash, totaling about 1,400W, roughly the same consumption as a microwave oven.

AvalonMiner equipment is from Canaan Creative. The Beijing-based company unveiled last December its next-generation bitcoin miner, the AvalonMiner 821. The immediate successor to the AvalonMiner 741 has 104 of the company's 16nm-based ASICs delivering 11TH/s and consuming 1,200W.

Ebit, meanwhile, is the in-house brand ofZhejiang Ebang. In December 2017, the company announced the upcoming arrival of the Ebit E10, said to be the first in the world to use chips with a 10nm manufacturing process for an ideal hash rate of 18TH/s.

The general rule regarding these branded equipment is to purchase them directly from the brand owners, and not from OEM companies even if they claim to be authorized manufacturers.