Iceriver KS0 Kaspa review: 100 GH/s for 65 watts!
The IceRiver KS0 is one of the first ASICs designed to mine Kaspa, and above all it is a model built for the home: 100 GH/s for just 65 watts. In this video (in French), we present the machine, start it up, configure it on a pool and calculate its profitability. A simple question: is this small, silent miner worth it for mining Kaspa at home?
Video from June 2023: the figures below date from that time. See "What about today?" at the end of the article.
A Kaspa ASIC designed for the home
IceRiver is a new manufacturer offering a range of Kaspa miners: KS0, KS1, KS2 and KS3. The biggest models reach 8 TH/s, with a power draw of about 3,000 to 3,300 watts. The KS0 is the smallest in the range:
- 100 GH/s of hashrate;
- only 65 watts of power consumption;
- a tiny form factor that really takes up no space;
- silent operation: it is a home ASIC that makes no noise and does not get very hot. A simple small fan next to it does no harm.
To put the progress into perspective, let's compare it with graphics cards: an RTX 3070 did not even reach 1 GH/s on Kaspa. The KS0 therefore does about 100 times better, with very low consumption. At our place, with the solar panels, those 65 watts are quickly absorbed during the day. We also like Kaspa itself, a cryptocurrency we find really interesting from a technology point of view.
Connectors and power supply
- On one side: an Ethernet port (no Wi-Fi), a USB-C socket and a standard power socket;
- On the other: a USB port and an SDK port for flashing the firmware;
- Status LEDs and a reset button.
The machine can be powered in two ways, including the standard 65-watt charger supplied with it, which plugs into the input labelled "DC power".
Setup and configuration
IceRiver provides an installation manual. The steps are simple:
- Connect the KS0 via Ethernet to your internet box or router, then power it on.
- Find its IP address in your box's administration interface (on an Orange box, for example, it is usually at 192.168.1.1).
- Log in to the machine by typing its IP address into a browser. Default username: admin; password: 12345678.
- Configure the pool: choose a Kaspa pool and use the port intended for ASICs, with a suitable difficulty, not the same one as for graphics cards or FPGAs.
Once the machine was running, the two temperature sensors showed between 36 and 41 °C, with the fans spinning at about 5,000 rpm.
Profitability: a 3-month payback at the time
At the time of the video, the KS0 was mining about 1,500 KAS per day, around $30 per day and $922 per month. Electricity is marginal: at $0.10 per kWh, it costs barely $5 per month.
We were selling the KS0 for €2,500 including VAT in our shop. With earnings of about €850 per month, that meant a payback period of about 3 months.
This calculation assumes constant difficulty. The Kaspa network hashrate was then 1.17 PH/s and had not exploded since mid-April. But new machines were coming: Bitmain had announced its KS3 for August, probably delayed until September. Our reasoning: even if the difficulty is multiplied by 4, there would still be $150 to $200 left per month.
Warranty and precautions
- Warranty: IceRiver offers a 6-month manufacturer's warranty.
- Beware of scams: as IceRiver is a new manufacturer, fake websites have appeared. The official website is iceriver.io.
- Availability: our next delivery was expected around mid-July, with very limited stock.
What about today?
As we anticipated, the difficulty has risen sharply: since 2023, many far more powerful Kaspa ASICs, from IceRiver as well as Bitmain's KS range, have joined the network. A KS0's earnings today are a long way from the figures above, even though its low consumption and silence still make it an easy machine to run at home.
To estimate the current earnings of a Kaspa miner, use our Kaspa mining profitability calculator and browse our Kaspa miners. Already own a KS0? Find out how to overclock the IceRiver KS0, KS1 and KS2, and discover our other quiet home miners.