In mid-March, there was a sudden increase in the hash rate of the Nervos CKB network. All miners of the cryptocurrency community noticed a surprising ten-fold increase in just two weeks. Experts suspected that the Antminer K5, launched in April by Bitmain, one of the world's leading mining hardware companies, was responsible. The chief reason for the increase was that Toddminer had already connected the C1 devices to the Nervos Network. A miner can only mine on the Nervos network with this ASIC miner based on the compatibility.

Antminer K5 was an Application Specific Integrated Circuit released by Bitmain in April 2020. The Antminer brand consists of mining hardware that is ASIC supported and mines cryptocurrencies.

Founded in 2013, Bitmain transformed the computing industry by building innovative technology in cryptocurrency, blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence (Ai). Bitmain has led the crypto mining industry into the production of integrated circuits for crypto mining. 

They also manufacture mining hardware under the Antminer flagship. Bitmain handles the largest crypto mining pools worldwide- BTC.com and Antpool.com. Bitmain technology is well known for supporting a wide range of blockchain startups and platforms. 

About Antminer K5

The Antminer K5 is Bitmain's first Eaglesong miner. At the time of release, the Toddminer C1 was the only miner in the network. This device comes with a peak hash rate of 1.13Th/s (1130Gh) and a power consumption of 1580W. 

Specifications

The Antminer K5 comes with a compact shell case that helps in easy stacking in mining farms. This miner weighs 6.1 kg and has size dimensions of 331 x 234 x 391mm. It uses the Ethernet interface. 
This miner has adaptive features that give it an edge over its predecessor mining rigs. 

It uses Bitmain's 7nm processing chip, which ensures efficiency and productivity. It also uses a dedicated framework supporting a wide range of chipsets. The Antminer K5 has a noise level of 72 dB. The noise level is equivalent to a vacuum cleaner's sound and is suitable for mining at home.

Algorithm

The Antminer K5 mines coins with the Eaglesong algorithm. This algorithm's top coin is Nervos, which is available to mine on the Nervos Common Knowledge Base(CKB). The Nervos network is an open-source blockchain system to solve significant challenges facing Ethereum and Bitcoin's blockchains. 

The Eaglesong algorithm supports mining coins like Ethereum and Nervos, and it is a new hash function of Nervos CKB. The Nervos CKB is the Proof of Work blockchain protocol of Nervos Network. It allows any cryptocurrency to be stored with Bitcoin's security and permissionless nature while enabling smart contracts through its native token, the CKByte.

Mining with Eaglesong is predominantly for Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), but it is more optimized to use ASICs like the Antminer K5 and Toddminer C1.

Fan and Cooling

The Antminer K5 comes with four fans for cooling and heat dissipation. There is no need for additional cooling methods as each fan has a maximum rotation speed of 6000 rpm. This cooling method makes sure Antminer K5 is in good working condition and reduces the risk of overheating.

Miner Set-Up

On receipt of this miner, users should check the miner for loose heat sinks and aesthetic damage. It is advised to set up the device in a dust-free environment with free air circulation. To increase longevity, one should unplug the miner while maintaining or installing it; otherwise, it will damage the control board. 

If plugged wrongly, the power supply unit will enter protection mode. Bitmain recommends users get power sources that offer a power output 20% higher than the miner's average power requirement. If the power source's production doesn't meet the power requirement, the miner's hash rate will below. 

Profitability

Miners are obtained for profitability and Return on Investment (ROI). Most ASICs have an ROI period of 18 months. The Antminer K5 will make a profit depending on current market conditions and electricity rates in the area.