NerdMiner Solo Pool: Pointing an ESP32 Miner at SoloLuck
What a NerdMiner actually is
A NerdMiner is an open-source Bitcoin miner that runs on an ESP32 — the same cheap Wi-Fi microcontroller you'd find in a smart plug or a hobby robot. It costs a few dollars, fits in your palm, and shows a tiny dashboard on a built-in screen. The popular build is the NerdMiner_v2.
It is not a serious mining device and it was never meant to be. A NerdMiner hashes at only tens of kilohashes per second — a Bitaxe outruns it by an enormous margin, and a single S19 isn't even in the same universe. The NerdMiner exists as a learning toy and a lottery ticket: it real-mines the real Bitcoin network, it just does so at a comically small rate.
That is exactly why people love them, and exactly why most pools quietly don't want them.
Why most pools reject a NerdMiner — and we don't
Pools set a minimum difficulty: the lowest-value share they'll bother accepting from a worker. A NerdMiner is so slow it can only ever produce extremely low-difficulty shares, so a high floor means its work gets thrown on the ground — or the device is disconnected outright.
| Pool type | How it treats a NerdMiner |
|---|---|
| Big high-hashrate pools | Minimum share difficulty is set well above what an ESP32 can hit, so its shares are mostly rejected or it's disconnected. |
| ckpool (vardiff) | Variable difficulty can drop low enough that tiny devices are accepted. |
| SoloLuck Nano (:3335) | A dedicated difficulty-1 tier built for exactly this. Welcomed on purpose. |
SoloLuck runs five tiers on one host so each class of device lands on a port tuned for it. The :3335 Nano tier has a minimum difficulty of 1 — the lowest there is. NerdMiner firmware requests a low difficulty automatically (mining.suggest_difficulty) and the pool honors it down to that floor — so a NerdMiner, an ESP32 hobby build, or any sub-100 GH/s device can submit shares that actually count instead of being filtered out. We don't pretend this device is going to find a block. We just don't see a reason to lock the door on it.
The honest odds (read this part)
This is a solo pool and the brand rule here is no hype, so plainly: a NerdMiner finding a Bitcoin block is so improbable the statistical wait runs far beyond the age of the universe. The network is hundreds of exahashes per second; you are bringing tens of kilohashes. Treat it as a curiosity, never a plan.
A few things that are not in dispute, so nobody can sell you a fantasy:
- The odds of solving a block are identical on every solo pool — they depend only on your hashrate versus the network, never on the pool. A pool changes the fee, the payout style, and the network latency. It cannot change your luck.
- No block has been solved on SoloLuck yet, and this is still a small pool — though most of the hashrate on it right now comes from community miners, not the operator. We'd rather tell you that than fake a leaderboard.
- If a NerdMiner ever did hit, it would be the full block reward paid straight to your address at our true 0% fee — nothing taken, the same as any other miner. But you should treat that outcome as a daydream, not income.
Want the real numbers for your exact hashrate? Put them into the solo mining odds calculator. And for why anyone runs a lottery toy at all, the solo vs pooled mining guide lays out the trade honestly.
Pointing your NerdMiner at SoloLuck
SoloLuck is non-custodial: your Bitcoin address is your username. There is no signup, no account, no balance held for you. If a block is ever solved, it pays on-chain straight to the bc1... address you enter here. Use an address whose keys you control (a hardware wallet is ideal).
On a NerdMiner_v2, open its Wi-Fi config portal (it serves a setup page on first boot or via its menu) and set these fields:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Pool address / host | stratum.sololuck.io (IP 148.230.98.87) |
| Pool port | 3335 — the Nano / difficulty-1 tier |
| BTC address / wallet | Your own bc1... address (this is your username) |
| Password | Anything at all — x is fine; it is ignored |
Save, let it reboot, and the device should show shares ticking up. Those are accepted lottery tickets — proof it's connected and doing real work, not a sign you're close to anything. The full picture and screenshots live on the setup page.
Your new miner came set to another pool
Most small miners leave the factory pointed at a pool, often Public Pool, which is a solo pool too. Keep it or switch, but check the payout field first: a solo pool pays a found block to whatever address is in it.
| Firmware | Factory pool | Payout address as shipped | Change these fields |
|---|---|---|---|
| NerdMiner v2Source: defaults, setup portal (NerdMiner_v2 release V1.8.3), checked | public-pool.io, no fallback | Your BTC address comes set to yourBtcAddress, a placeholder, not an address: nothing is paid until you enter yours. | Setup portal:
|
| NMMinerSource: default pools, pool list, config page (vendor README, commit 9d32f48), checked | solobtc.nmminer.com, fallback au.solobtc.nmminer.com | Not stated in the vendor's documentation. Check that both BTC address fields hold yours. | Config page:
|
| SparkMinerSource: defaults, wallet, setup portal (SparkMiner v2.9.5), checked | public-pool.io, backup pool.nerdminers.org | BTC Wallet Address is empty until you enter yours. | Setup portal:
|
A seller can change these before shipping, so your own miner's settings page is what counts. The setup page has the other firmware and fills these values in with your address.
The one thing SoloLuck genuinely changes: latency
A pool can't improve your odds, but it can stop you wasting work. When a new block is found, your pool has to push you fresh work built on it; until that message arrives your miner is still hashing the old block, and anything it submits for the old block is a stale share — real work, thrown away. A shorter round trip to the pool means a shorter window.
On a NerdMiner the absolute number of shares is tiny, so this is a small effect in raw terms — but it is one of the few levers a pool controls at all. How long your own round trip is depends on your line and your route, not on anyone's marketing: the Ping Race times your browser against each pool. The compare page puts them side by side.
So is it worth running one?
If you want to get rich: no, and nobody honest will tell you otherwise. If you want a real, on-chain Bitcoin lottery ticket that teaches you how mining works, looks great on a shelf, sips a couple of watts, and connects to a pool that won't reject it — then yes, a NerdMiner on the Nano tier is a genuinely fun way in.
Set it, point it at stratum.sololuck.io:3335 with your own address, and forget about it. If you later catch the bug, a Bitaxe-class device on the Lite tier (:3333) is the usual next step — still a lottery, just a bigger pile of tickets. Questions, or want to compare notes with other tiny-rig owners? The community is on Telegram at @SoloLuckPool.
FAQ
Will a NerdMiner actually find a Bitcoin block?
Realistically, no. At only tens of kilohashes per second against a network of hundreds of exahashes, the statistical wait runs far beyond the age of the universe. It mines the real network, but treat it as a lottery ticket, not income. The odds are the same on every solo pool — run the numbers at /guide/solo-mining-odds-calculator.
Why won't some pools accept my NerdMiner?
They set a minimum share difficulty too high for such a slow device, so its shares get rejected or it's disconnected. SoloLuck runs a dedicated difficulty-1 Nano tier on port 3335 specifically so ESP32 and sub-100 GH/s devices are accepted, not filtered out.
What exactly do I put in the NerdMiner config?
Host stratum.sololuck.io, port 3335, your own bc1... Bitcoin address as the wallet/username, and any password (x works — it's ignored). The pool is non-custodial: a solved block would pay straight to that address on-chain in full, at a true 0% fee — nothing is taken.
Does SoloLuck's fee cost me anything while I'm just running it?
No. SoloLuck's fee is a true 0% — finders keepers — so nothing is ever taken, whether you solve a block or not. A solved block pays its whole reward to your address in a single coinbase output. There's no account, no balance, and nothing held for you.
Why pick SoloLuck over another pool for an ESP32 miner?
A pool can't change your odds, only fee, payout style and latency. SoloLuck welcomes NerdMiners on the Nano tier and pays non-custodially to your own address. Whether it is a short hop from your line is something to measure, not to take on trust — the Ping Race at /ping times it. Be aware no block has been solved here yet, and this is still a small pool — though most of its hashrate now comes from community miners rather than the operator.
Ready to start solo mining?
Paste your address and copy the config from /setup, find your port and difficulty floor on /connect, watch the pool on /status, and check every claim on /verify. Mine to your own address — that is what makes it truly solo.
Start MiningCalculate Your Odds
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