New Wi-Fi 7 Cryptomining ‘TP-Link ASIC’ Router Scam Claims to Mine Faster Than RTX 4090 (Updated)
UPDATE March 8, 2023 9:50 AM PT: A TP-Link representative answered our question by stating that this is not a TP-Link product. We are investigating further.
company namedTP-Link ASIC (opens in new tab)” have announced (opens in new tab) NX31 ASIC mining router with Wi-Fi 7 connectivity. According to the specs, this $1,440 router has an ASIC built in that will mine cryptocurrency faster than the RTX 4090, drawing out 1,200 watts at full load. However, his TP-Link, a well-known router maker, says this is not their product and they are working to remove the press release. At best “TP-Link ASIC” is an unrelated company, but like other crypto hardware scams I’ve seen in the past, it’s more likely that this device is a scam. We are working on digging for more information.
The listing for the NX31 (NX31-B2MR) states that the device doubles as a Wi-Fi 7 router and ASIC miner. However, the product page is lacking in technical details, and an image of the NX31 device corresponds to TP-Link’s Archer BE900 Wi-Fi 7 router — even the filename confirms it. It makes no sense. Unless it’s pretty big, the company couldn’t have packed this much horsepower into a bootleg design that mimics a router.
The company claims that the NX31 offers a hash rate of up to 31.2 TH/s, much faster than the GeForce RTX 4090. However, while it appears to be for ASIC-friendly mining algorithms (Kadena/Blake2S), their right-brain, which has to pay for electricity, would have run them on GPUs these days. But there are still efficiency issues.
The manufacturer labeled the NX31 Kadena (KDA), so support for other cryptocurrencies is unknown and unlikely. It claims to outperform cheaper ASIC miners such as the Canaan Avalon A9 miner (20 TH/s), but lags behind Intel’s Bonanza Mine ASIC (34.5 – 47.7 TH/s). The problem is that we are looking at apples (SHA256 mining) and oranges (Kadena mining). The NX31’s selling point is the device’s dual function as both a router and an ASIC-based crypto miner.
The TP-Link ASIC didn’t share the NX31’s dimensions, but said it weighs 3.9kg (8.58 lbs). The vanilla Archer BE900 has an LED screen that can be personalized with weather, time, or other graphics. With NX31, the vendor claims to have added the ability to display hash rate and temperature. In addition, the machine features a metal body and he two fans for improved cooling and consumes 1,200W. However, the ASIC miner needs his 240V outlet, so I can’t blindly plug his NX31 into my home outlet.
On the router side, other attributes of NX31 match Archer BE900. For example, quad-band technology and he claims it supports 12 internal antennas to improve coverage over large areas. In addition, NX31 claims to have plenty of Ethernet ports with different standards. The list includes 1 10 Gbps WAN/LAN port, 1 10 Gbps SFP+/RJ45 port, 4 2.5 Gbps LAN ports and 1 1 Gbps LAN port. For USB connectivity, NX31 provides one USB 3.0 port and one USB 2.0 port.
NX31 is not the only ASIC miner in the ranks of TP-Link ASICs. The company also sells the D11 (D11-B1FB) Doge and Litecoin miner for $570. Reportedly, this machine puts out 610 Mh/s while he draws 400W. This model is more versatile as it comes in both 100V and 240V variants. TP-Link ASIC will ship his first batch on March 24th.
TP-Link ASIC says it has already sold the first batch of NX31. The ASIC mining router is therefore on backorder for his April release. The vendor appears to have adjusted the price to $1,370, 5% below the launch price. Purchase orders are limited to 3 devices per customer, but you should never drop your money due to this likely scam. They claim an ROI (return on investment) term of 5-7 months, which seems very ambitious.
Based on Kadena’s claimed mining performance of 31.2 TH/s, it would appear that even if the NX31 were real, it would only be able to mine about $4 worth of cryptocurrency per day at current rates. Assuming a power consumption of 1200W and $0.10 per kWh, the actual net profit for him would be about $1.40 per day. Cryptocoin or NX31 in between.
