How I Made a Bitcoin Miner with Raspberry Pi and How You Can Too

It was the moment of truth. After weeks of trial and error, hardware assembly, code debugging, and sleepless nights, I was finally about to turn on my Raspberry Pi-powered Bitcoin miner for the first time. Would it work? Would I start mining Satoshis right away, or would the screen flood with errors?

Spoiler alert: it worked, but not in the way I expected.

Months earlier, I had found myself deep in a rabbit hole of crypto mining forums, trying to make sense of hash rates, power consumption, and ROI. Most people said you couldn’t mine Bitcoin profitably with a Raspberry Pi—it’s too small, too underpowered. But as I learned through experimentation, those limitations made it the perfect gateway into learning about the entire ecosystem of cryptocurrencies. If you’re anything like me, this isn't just about mining Bitcoin; it's about solving puzzles, hacking together solutions, and learning how decentralized networks actually function.

So, how did I do it? Let me take you through the process, and by the end of this article, you’ll know exactly how to build your own Raspberry Pi Bitcoin miner.

Why Raspberry Pi?

Before we dive into the nuts and bolts, let’s address the elephant in the room: Why use a Raspberry Pi when professional-grade Bitcoin mining rigs exist? Well, for starters, those rigs cost thousands of dollars and consume a ridiculous amount of electricity. Plus, the Raspberry Pi is inexpensive (starting at $35), easy to program, and surprisingly versatile. It won’t mine Bitcoin fast, but that’s not the point. The point is to understand the mechanics of blockchain technology, mining pools, and hashing algorithms.

Think of it as a learning tool first, and a miner second.

What You'll Need

Before you get your hands dirty, gather the following components:

• Raspberry Pi (preferably a Pi 4 with at least 2GB of RAM)
• MicroSD card (at least 32GB, but bigger is better)
• USB Bitcoin ASIC Miner (for this, I used a GekkoScience 2Pac Miner, as it's beginner-friendly)
• Power Supply (make sure it's powerful enough to handle the Pi and ASIC miner)
• Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse (to set up your Pi, though you won’t need them after the initial setup)
• Internet Connection (Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi)
• Raspberry Pi OS (you can download the latest version from the official website)
• CGMiner software (more on this later)

Once you have all these items on hand, it's time to start building.

Step 1: Set Up the Raspberry Pi

Insert your microSD card into your computer, download the Raspberry Pi Imager from the official Raspberry Pi website, and install the Raspberry Pi OS. Once installed, plug the microSD card into your Raspberry Pi and power it up. You’ll need to go through the standard setup process—choosing your language, connecting to the internet, and updating the software.

Once you’re logged in, open the terminal. You’ll be spending most of your time here from now on. Start by updating your Pi:

bash
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

This ensures your system is up-to-date and secure.

Step 2: Install CGMiner

CGMiner is the go-to software for Bitcoin mining. It’s open-source, well-maintained, and runs smoothly on a Raspberry Pi. To install it, run the following commands in your terminal:

bash
sudo apt-get install git
git clone https://github.com/ckolivas/cgminer
cd cgminer
./configure
make

The process might take a while depending on your internet speed, but once it’s installed, you’re ready to configure your miner.

Step 3: Connect Your ASIC Miner

This is where things get exciting. Plug your USB Bitcoin ASIC Miner into one of the Raspberry Pi’s USB ports. Ensure that your power supply can handle the load of both the Raspberry Pi and the ASIC miner. Once connected, you’ll need to configure CGMiner to recognize and communicate with the ASIC miner.

bash
cgminer -o stratum+tcp://POOL_URL:PORT -u YOUR_USERNAME -p YOUR_PASSWORD --usb :all

Replace POOL_URL, YOUR_USERNAME, and YOUR_PASSWORD with your mining pool’s information. If you don’t have a mining pool account yet, create one now. Mining solo isn’t practical unless you own a massive mining rig.

Step 4: Monitor and Optimize

Once everything is up and running, you’ll see CGMiner’s interface displaying a bunch of stats, including your hash rate, accepted shares, and miner temperature. Don’t be alarmed if the hash rate seems low—Raspberry Pi miners aren’t designed for speed.

But here’s the kicker: You’re part of a network, contributing to the blockchain’s security and helping validate transactions. The reward? A fraction of a Bitcoin.

You can tweak the settings in CGMiner to improve performance, but don’t expect miracles. This setup is about learning and experimentation more than profit. That said, overclocking your Raspberry Pi and using a fan to cool it down might give you a slight bump in performance.

Step 5: Energy Efficiency and Cost Analysis

Mining isn’t just about computing power—it’s about energy efficiency. A large mining rig consumes a lot of power, which can negate your profits if you're paying for electricity. The Raspberry Pi, on the other hand, is extremely energy-efficient, which makes it a great testbed for understanding how energy consumption plays a role in profitability.

Let’s crunch some numbers:

Component	Power Consumption (W)	Cost per Month ($)
Raspberry Pi (Model 4)	5W	$0.36
GekkoScience 2Pac Miner	5W	$0.36
Total	10W	$0.72

At an average electricity rate of $0.12 per kWh, running this setup costs around $0.72 per month. In contrast, a professional mining rig might consume hundreds of watts and cost upwards of $100 per month in electricity.

The Long Game

Is this setup going to make you a millionaire? Probably not. But will it teach you the ins and outs of Bitcoin mining, blockchain technology, and energy efficiency? Absolutely. In the world of Bitcoin, knowledge is far more valuable than immediate profits.

Over time, you might decide to scale up your operation or experiment with different coins that are more suited to low-power mining setups. The Raspberry Pi gives you a foundation to build upon, making it the perfect platform for aspiring miners and crypto enthusiasts.

In the end, my Raspberry Pi Bitcoin miner became more than just a project—it became a lesson in patience, persistence, and creativity. And if I can do it, so can you. Ready to start mining?