Waiting a year for a Proto Rig? Not with us – your money mines today
Waiting a year for a Proto Rig? Not with us – your money mines today
THTomáš Hrdlička 9 November 2026 · Proto Rig
Short answer
We have taken Proto Rig 819 TH/s orders since October 2025 and have not received a single machine. So every Proto Rig customer now gets miners of the same value from stock that mine today – and keeps the option to take the Proto Rig if it ever ships.
24 Oct 2025
First Proto Rig order we took
0 machines
Delivered to us in more than a year
Same value
Replacement miners from stock, mining now
1What happened with the Proto Rig
The Proto Rig looked like one of the most interesting miners in years, and we still think the design is good. The problem is not the machine on paper. It is that we cannot get one.
What Proto announced. Block, Inc. presented the Proto Rig and its Proto Fleet software on 14 August 2025. It is a modular, air-cooled Bitcoin miner with up to nine hashboards, up to 819 TH/s and as low as 14.1 J/TH, according to theofficial product page. Less than two weeks after the launch, Proto told Bitcoin Magazine that “Proto Rigs are shipping to customers now” and that availability depended on configuration and volume.
What we saw. Proto sells only through its own website and sales team, and its product page still shows no price and no delivery date. We ordered and paid for the machines through our supply channel. More than a year later we have received nothing – not one machine for a customer and not one for our own test bench.
Las Vegas. At Bitcoin 2026 in Las Vegas (27–29 April 2026, The Venetian), where we exhibited at booth 1728 and our CEO Michal Beňo spoke on a panel about hosted mining, we met the Proto team in person. We asked to buy just one rig as a demo unit for our company, at their price. They would not sell us one. We left without a machine and without a delivery date.
Our view
Proto may well be supplying large mining companies directly. But for resellers and for individual buyers we see no realistic delivery date, and we do not expect one soon. We would rather say that openly than keep telling customers “next month”.
2What we offer Proto Rig preorder customers
If you preordered a Proto Rig from us, you get miners of the same value from stock that start mining now, at no extra cost. We carry the risk of the Proto order ourselves – our oldest Proto Rig customer is already mining on a replacement instead of waiting.
1
We contact you You get two or three replacement options for the amount you paid – for example current Bitmain Antminer models, which are energy-efficient and ship from stock.
2
You choose Same total hashrate, more efficient machines, or a mix. If a replacement costs more, you pay only the difference. If it costs less, we refund you the difference.
3
We ship or install Delivered to your address, or set up in one of our hosting locations within days, not months.
4
If Proto delivers later, you choose again Take the Proto Rig and return the replacement to us, or keep the machine you are already mining on.
A replacement from stock is racked and hashing within days, not months.
Worked example
What a year of waiting costs: one Antminer S23 Hyd that mines instead
Estimated revenue: 563 TH/s x about $0.035 per TH per day
about $19.70 per day
Power: 5,349 W x 24 / 1000 = 128.4 kWh at 4.5 cents/kWh
about $5.78 per day
What is left after power
about $13.90 per day
Over 12 months of waiting in a queue
about $5,000 not earned
Revenue per TH and the hosting rate as listed on oneminers.com on 30 October 2026. Bitcoin price and network difficulty change daily, so treat this as an illustration, not a forecast. Run your own numbers in the profitability calculator.
You do not lose your Proto Rig by taking a replacement. The difference is that your money mines while you wait, instead of sitting in a queue.
3Why the Proto Rig is still in our shop
We keep it listed because people search for it, and we can give them something better than a waiting list: an honest status and a miner that works today.
Anyone who orders the Proto Rig now gets the same deal as our existing Proto Rig customers. We tell you upfront that there is no delivery date, and we offer a replacement of equal value from miners in stock straight away. Your money starts mining this week instead of sitting in a queue for a year – or longer.
4How a delayed miner preorder usually ends elsewhere
In ASIC mining, a delayed preorder normally becomes the buyer’s problem. We see the same pattern again and again with factory batches and resellers.
A preorder that never ships earns nothing – while network difficulty keeps rising.
USUAL: Payment cannot be cancelled.
ONEMINERS: Batch preorders are paid in full or with a large deposit and the order is final. With us, your money goes into a miner from stock instead.
USUAL: The date moves.
ONEMINERS: “Next batch” becomes the one after that, and the machine arrives when it earns far less because difficulty kept rising. With us, a replacement mines from the start.
USUAL: No replacement, no refund.
ONEMINERS: If the batch never ships, many sellers simply stop answering. We give you a miner of the same value and refund any difference.
Ask before you pay for any preorder
Can I cancel? What happens if the date slips? Will you replace the machine if it never ships? If the answer to the last one is no, the risk is entirely yours.
5We have done this before
Giving customers a miner from stock instead of making them wait is how our team has worked for years. A few real swaps from our order history, with customer details removed:
When
Ordered
Got instead
Outcome
July 2025
IceRiver KS1 1 TH/s (customer in Romania)
2× IceRiver KS0 Ultra
agreed and shipped the next day
June 2025
IceRiver KS1 1 TH/s
2× IceRiver KS0 Ultra
agreed and shipped 4 days after the order
August 2024
2× Bitmain KS5 Pro from an August/September batch
Antminer AL1, hosted in Norway
customer paid only the price difference
July 2024
Antminer DR7
IceRiver KS5L 12 TH/s, split between the Czech Republic and Norway
mining from the day after the agreement
December 2023
Antminer S19K Pro 120 TH/s (customer in Greece)
2× IceRiver KS0
shipped three weeks after the order
6Proto Rig preorder FAQ
I preordered a Proto Rig. Do I have to do anything?
No. We will contact you with replacement options. If you would rather start now, write to us and quote your order number.
Can I get my money back instead?
The Proto preorder itself cannot be cancelled, so we cannot refund it as cash. Instead, we give you miners of the same value from stock, delivered or hosted right away. If the replacement you pick costs less than your preorder, we refund the difference.
What will I get as a replacement?
Machines of the same value you paid, usually current Bitmain models. You choose between more total hashrate and better efficiency; we show you the numbers for each option before you decide.
What if Proto finally ships?
You choose: switch to the Proto Rig and return the replacement, or keep the replacement you are already mining on. Until then, the replacement mines for you.
Do I lose my Proto Rig order if I take a replacement?
No. You do not have to choose between waiting and mining. Your Proto order stays open, and we will tell you as soon as we have a real delivery date.
Is the Proto Rig a bad miner?
We have not been able to test one, so we cannot judge it. The published specs are strong. Our issue is availability, not the design.
This article is for education only and is not financial advice. Mining revenue depends on the Bitcoin price, network difficulty, fees, power costs and uptime, all of which change. Figures are estimates based on public network data and rates listed on oneminers.com on 30 October 2026; check the live pages for current rates and prices. Proto Rig specifications are taken from the manufacturer’s product page.
