Bitmain, the manufacturer of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining rigs, has announced its plans to launch the L9 Scrypt miner in May. This new miner, with a hashrate of up to 16,200 megahash per second (MH/s) and an energy efficiency of 0.21 joules per megahash (J/M), is designed to mine litecoin, dogecoin, and digibyte.
Bitmain declared on social media that the L9 Antminer will be an “unchallenged miner” for cryptocurrencies such as LTC, DOGE, and BEL. The company’s previous L7 miner, which has a hashrate of 9,050 MH/s and an energy efficiency of 0.36 J/M, is currently sold out and generates an estimated $7 per day.
The upcoming L9 Scrypt miner will offer a significant improvement in hashpower, with a hashrate of 16,200 MH/s or 16.2 gigahash per second (GH/s). It also surpasses the L7 in energy efficiency, boasting a rate of 0.21 J/T. This means that, under the same electricity costs, the L9 has the potential to double the daily earnings compared to the L7. However, Bitmain has not yet disclosed the pricing details for the L9 model.
Scrypt miners not only mine LTC, DOGE, and BEL, but also other coins like AUR, DGB, EMC2, FLO, XVG, EMD, GAME, and NLG.
The L7 model was previously priced at $6,335 each but dropped to about $4,435 with a Bitmain coupon before selling out. The release of the L9 miner coincides with the Litecoin blockchain reaching a new peak in its hashrate, surpassing 1 petahash per second (PH/s). On March 6, 2024, at block height 2,644,992, the Litecoin network hit a record of 1.75 PH/s.
Similarly, the Dogecoin network achieved its highest hashrate on March 29, 2024, at block height 5,150,193, reaching 3.05 PH/s. Currently, both Litecoin and Dogecoin maintain hashrates of just over 1 PH/s for each network. Last month, Bitmain introduced the Antminer S19 Pro units with a 15 J/T efficiency, producing 234 terahash per second (TH/s) per unit. The S19 Pro currently costs $6,318 or $4,423 with a company coupon.
Leading mining rig producers, including Canaan, Microbt, Auradine, and Bitmain, are competing to enhance efficiency ratings with their latest offerings. As of mid-April 2024, while SHA256 mineable coins rank as the fourth most profitable, Scrypt coins are positioned sixth. Once officially released, the L9 is expected to become the most profitable Scrypt miner on the market.
What are your thoughts on Bitmain’s new L9 Scrypt miner? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section below.
