Sazmining starts selling Proto mining boards to individual Bitcoin miners

Bitcoin mining began as a hobby for people with spare computers and a tolerance for noisy bedrooms. Nearly two decades later, the industry belongs to warehouse-scale operators, and a few companies are trying to coax individuals back in.

The latest attempt comes from Sazmining, a Wyoming-based mining-as-a-service provider. On October 16, 2026, it began selling Proto immersion hashboards directly to individuals. The pitch is a way to earn BTC without running loud, power-hungry machines at home. The fine print is a payback period that, under current assumptions, could stretch past six years.

What Sazmining is actually selling

The hardware is a Proto hashboard developed by Block. Until now, it was mostly available to large mining operators.

Each Proto board delivers approximately 204 TH/s, or 204 trillion hashes per second. It does so at an efficiency of 15 J/TH, meaning it uses 15 joules of energy for every trillion hashes. Multiply the two figures and you get a power draw of about 3,060 watts per board.

The boards use immersion cooling. Instead of fans blowing air across hot chips, the hardware sits in a non-conductive liquid that pulls heat away.

Pricing starts at $4,187 per unit. Buyers who pay in crypto get the price cut to $3,978.

Sazmining also offers financing. Customers can put down $1,397, then make 18 monthly payments of $155 at 0% interest. Run the numbers and the financed total lands exactly at $4,187.

The economics: patience required

Owning the board is only part of the cost. Sazmining takes a 15% management fee on the Bitcoin each board produces.

Electricity is passed through to the customer at approximately $0.063/kWh.

Under current assumptions, one board could take more than six years to recoup its initial cost. The next Bitcoin halving is expected to extend that timeline further.

A halving cuts the reward miners receive for each new block in half. The next one is expected roughly 76,000 blocks from now.

Ivo Georgiev, founder and CEO of crypto wallet company Ambire, offered a sober read on the opportunity. He mined Bitcoin in 2011 while still in high school.

“It’s still hard to make money as an individual miner, and it’s not going to get any easier,” Georgiev said.

Why now: a rebounding network

Sazmining’s launch arrives as Bitcoin’s network hashrate has bounced back above 1,000 EH/s. As of October 30, 2026, network hashrate sat around 1,076 EH/s. Mining difficulty stood at 148.36T.

For perspective, one Proto board at 204 TH/s represents about one five-millionth of the network’s current hashrate.

Some large mining operators have been diverting resources toward AI workloads. Their data centers, power contracts and cooling infrastructure turn out to be useful for training and running AI models too.

What this means for would-be miners

The core appeal of Sazmining’s model is access. Individuals can own industrial-grade hardware without managing heat, noise or wiring at home. The company handles operations and takes its cut from the output.

The 0% financing lowers the upfront barrier considerably. A buyer needs $1,397 to get started rather than the full $4,187. Still, the customer carries 18 months of fixed payments while mining revenue fluctuates with Bitcoin’s price and network difficulty.

The six-plus-year payback estimate is a warning label in itself. Mining hardware tends to lose its competitive edge as newer, more efficient machines arrive.

Georgiev’s assessment frames the trade-off plainly. Retail mining is accessible again, but the math has not become any kinder to the little guy.