On September 9, 2023, KASmedia was fortunate to interview members of the Goldshell team as part of our mining interview series. Please see our articles with Christian Ludwig and ICERIVER to read more about this series.  

Founded in 2017, Goldshell is a crypto miner manufacturer headquartered in Shanghai, with additional offices in Hangzhou, Hong Kong, and Singapore. According to their website, Goldshell is available in 130+ countries, with over fifty global partners, and over 40,000 registered users. 

Goldshell is unique in that it dedicates the majority of its team (70%) to R&D activities to constantly evolve and improve its products. Additionally, the core team has over ten years of experience in the integrated circuit field.

Goldshell offers multiple tiers of miners - the entry-level BOX series, the intermediate-level LITE series, Professional series, and the ECHO series. Currently, two miners are available to mine Kaspa, the E-KA 1M and the KA BOX PRO. As of August 30, 2024, the E-KA 1M costs 2,209 USD with a default hash rate and power at roughly 5.5 TH/s at 1800W, with a low-power mode available. The Goldshell KA BOX PRO has a much lower price point at 479 USD, as of August 30, 2024; and has an average hashrate of 1.6 TH/s at 600W power. 

In addition to the miners, Goldshell also offers the GS watch, which displays real-time crypto prices, mining details and custom dials to display the time. It also includes a pomodoro timer, step tracking, weather, battery charge and messaging.

Goldshell has a community newsletter and posts research reports and analyses on its website. It offers several opportunities for collaboration, including bulk discounts, affiliate marketing, and co-marketing opportunities. Goldshell has customer service support hours Monday through Friday, 1:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. GMT.  

Below is a transcript of the Goldhsell interview: 

Company Business 

What drives your company to allocate 70% of its resources to R&D?

We believe that innovation is the key to driving industry progress. Investing heavily in R&D allows us to continuously improve product performance, energy efficiency, and user experience, thereby providing the best solutions for our customers.

Which countries show the highest demand for your products?

Our main markets are currently concentrated in North America and Europe, including the United States, Canada, and Germany. These regions have a high demand for our products due to the many cryptocurrency enthusiasts and home miners supported by favorable national policies.

In what ways does your expertise in integrated circuits contribute to product innovation?

Our deep expertise in integrated circuits allows us to optimize from the chip level, significantly enhancing the efficiency and stability of our mining machines. This foundational technical control enables us to respond quickly to market demands and launch more competitive products.

With the rise of ASIC dominance offering high hashing power, why was it important for Goldshell to provide customers with home mining equipment more suitable for enthusiasts? 

We believe decentralization is the core spirit of blockchain, and home miners can enable more individuals to participate in this process. By offering easy-to-use and affordable home miners, we aim to lower the barriers to entry, making cryptocurrency mining accessible to everyone, not just large institutions.

Goldshell Community 

Do you plan to continue offering miner giveaways on your Twitter account?

We will periodically release related events, especially during product launches or major events. We welcome you to follow our Twitter account for the latest updates.

You created an NFT collection with Alephium. Would you consider doing the same with Kaspa now that users can soon mint NFTs (KRC20) tokens on the Kaspa network?

We will consider it. Our previous involvement with Alephium mainly aimed to support some ecosystem projects on the Alephium chain and align with our primary mining machines. For Kaspa's NFT collaboration, we plan to keep it simplerby just printing NFT designs on our machines and selling them. In the future, we hope to participate more in forms that combine with tokens.

Technology and Mining

What can users do to optimize their running performance?

Regular maintenance, firmware updates, and storing the machines in suitable environments, avoiding direct sunlight, are key. We also recommend using the Goldshell Zone app for enhanced control and monitoring.

What steps can users take to optimize the performance of your mining equipment?

Keep the equipment clean and ensure it's in suitable locations, especially away from high temperatures and humidity. Use the Goldshell Zone app for remote monitoring, checking the device's status, and making timely adjustments. Regularly update firmware for optimal performance and the latest feature improvements.

How significant was it to incorporate WiFi connectivity in your mining devices?

WiFi connectivity is a significant breakthrough, making it easier for users to set up and manage their miners without complex wiring. When we launched this, we also introduced our cloud platform, Goldshell Hub, a web-based remote control assistant tool, followed by updates to our Goldshell Zone app. This app offers users a new experience, simplifying miners' buying and managing.

How did you design your miners to be suited for residential miners?

We focus on compact design, quiet operation, and user-friendly interfaces.

What inspired the design of your Box series, resembling computer towers?

Traditional industrial miners have a unique appearance that may seem unfamiliar to those outside the industry. When designing the Box series, we took inspiration from computer cases widely recognized as personal and business equipment. This familiar shape reduces the fear of participation, making the product less "industrial" and more suitable for home environments.

What are some technological differences between your miners and other miners available on the market?

Goldshell miners stand out in terms of high energy efficiency, quiet operation, and unique design, especially for home use. We have iterated multiple versions of the Box series, with notable versions being the Box II and Box series PLUS, which have built-in power supplies. When developing these internal versions, we overcame challenges such as concerns about whether the integrated power supply would affect power efficiency and how it would handle heat dissipation. We made several internal adjustments, including the design of the built-in power supply's temperature control, modified the shape of the power supply, raised edges, and repositioned air outlets to ensure cooling efficiency. We also upgraded the fans for better quiet operation. Recently, we launched the ECHO series, which features a 3U server form. Compared to othersimilar machines on the market, we made significant adjustments to the entire internal structure, enabling excellent quiet performance even at high hash rates (around 5T). This machine is particularly suitable for data centers and users with relatively low electricity costs, offering a lower per-megahash cost overall.

What advice would you give our readers interested in mining but currently hesitant?

If you're interested in mining but still hesitant, I recommend starting from the basics. You don't need to invest much money in equipment immediately. Begin by learning and understanding different mining methods, such as ASIC mining, GPU mining, and more. Join our community, seek advice from experienced individuals, and learn from their experiences. We also offer entry-level miners (Box Series), which are perfect for beginners. The most important thing is that mining requires patience and a keen observation of the market—take your time to understand and find the best path for yourself.

How beginner-friendly are your mining rigs for users who are first-time miners?

We must emphasize our Box PLUS series; the built-in power supply design simplifies the operation—just plug it in, like a toaster, directly into the wall. However, we have not yet released the Kaspa series for this machine, so stay tuned. Additionally, our Echo series, with two levels of power consumption, including a low-power mode and ultra-quiet product features, is particularly suitable for home users. It also has a built-in power supply design with cables for direct connection, making it very easy to operate.

The GS Watch is such a fun device. Do you think we will see more of these types of devices for crypto enthusiasts in the future?

Yes, we see great potential in this area. The launch of GS Watch is our innovative attempt to combine mining machines with daily life. In the future, we will continue to develop more similar products that meet the needs of crypto enthusiasts while providing them with fun experiences. We believe integrating blockchain and crypto technology into daily life is an important direction for the development of the crypto ecosystem.

Crypto Industry

What excites you most about the future of cryptocurrency?

What excites me the most is that cryptocurrencies are continuously breaking the limitations of the traditional financial system. Blockchain technology's transparency and decentralization allow more people to participate equally in this ecosystem. As technology matures and applications expand, cryptocurrencies may completely change our perception of finance, asset management, and even everyday transactions. This transformative power is truly exciting.

Kaspa

80%+ of Kaspa coins have already been mined, and roughly 95% are expected to be mined within the next two years. How does this impact your outlook with Kaspa miners?

As Kaspa's mining progresses, competition among miners will intensify, and mining difficulty will gradually increase. However, this also means that the network's security and robustness will significantly improve, making it profitable for miners already participating. We will continue to optimize the performance and efficiency of our miners to help miners remain competitive in the next two years.

Currently, it's more cost-efficient to purchase Kaspa on spot markets than to mine it. How does this impact your business?

Market fluctuations causing short-term lower costs for buying Kaspa on the spot market is a common market phenomenon. As a mining machine manufacturer, we focus on long-term trends and the value of decentralization and network security that mining brings.

With Rusty Kaspa, the network is now producing higher blocks per second (BPS), which gives home miners a higher chance of producing a block. Do you think this has increased the demand for Kaspa miners?

The launch of Rusty Kaspa indeed increases the block production frequency, which is a positive sign for home miners. More block production opportunities mean that even small miners can earn rewards more frequently, thus increasing the demand for home miners.

How has it been interacting with the Kaspa community?

We collaborated with the Kaspa community in AMAs, where our shared members could learn about Kaspa and mining. I think this format works very well, and you can sense the community members' deep understanding of mining technology and network security. The sample units we sent out also received a lot of positive feedback.

We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with the community to promote.

What are you most excited about regarding the future of Kaspa?

We hope to see Kaspa attract more developers and users, expand its ecosystem, and create more value for miners and users alike. We also look forward to Kaspa playing a larger role in the broader blockchain space.

Moreover, have you foundKeccak to be more ASIC friendly? 

Yes, the characteristics of the Keccak architecture make it very suitable for ASIC development. ASICs can optimize the complex calculations of Keccak at the hardware level, significantly enhancing performance and efficiency, which is highly beneficial for miners.

How does your KA Box miner differ from Kaspa home miners such as IceRiver's KS0 Ultra?

Our KA Box miner is designed with a strong focus on user experience and ease of operation. Besides its quiet, compact, and high-efficiency features, we have also developed the Goldshell Zone App. This application allows users to conveniently monitor and manage their miners remotely. Whether at home or anywhere with an internet connection, users can easily connect to their miners via mobile or computer, view real-time performance data, adjust settings, and ensure the miner is always operating at its best. Compared to IceRiver's KS0 Ultra, our KA Box offers not only hardware optimization but also enhances the overall user experience through software, making it easier for home miners to participate in cryptocurrency mining.

X (Twitter) & other socials links: https://x.com/goldshellminer, discord.gg/goldshellminer 

Website: www.Goldshell.com