IceRiver: BGIN company, the KS and AL series

IceRiver is the miner brand of BGIN Blockchain Limited. The company started work in March 2019 as a miner and site operator, the holding company was registered in the Cayman Islands in March 2022, and the head office is in Singapore. The IceRiver brand itself appeared in April 2023. Since 21 October 2025 the company has traded on Nasdaq under the ticker BGIN, with 30 million dollars raised in the offering.

What IceRiver is best known for: in March 2023 it was the first to bring a Kaspa ASIC to market, the KS1 and KS2 models. Before that the coin was mined on graphics cards. Over three weeks in August 2023 the network hashrate grew more than fourfold, and from the graphics card level it eventually rose by two orders of magnitude. That is down to ASIC specifically. The first manufacturer here was not Bitmain.

The company designs its chips itself and has them produced elsewhere, at a plant the offering prospectus calls a leading Asian fab outside China without naming it. Assembly takes place in Malaysia and China. The company claims seven successful production tape outs since 2022, but the process node is officially named for only one of them, the new bitcoin chip: 4 nm.

Now the unpleasant part. In 2025 the company's hardware sales fell from 102849 miners to 9410, down 91 percent in units. Hardware revenue shrank from 192.2 million dollars to 15.3, down 92 percent. The year closed with a loss of 177 million against a profit of 66.1 a year earlier. Management stated outright that it is winding down the altcoin direction in favor of bitcoin infrastructure. For the owner of a KS series ASIC that is already visible in the firmware dates: the last build for the KS5 is from July 2024.

The history fits into seven years and splits into three parts: first a miner and site operator, then the manufacturer that first built an ASIC for Kaspa, and after that a turn back toward bitcoin.

• 2019In March mining activity begins through a Hong Kong legal entity. There is no hardware of its own yet: the company mines on other people's equipment.
• 2021Entry into North America, own sites in the state of Nebraska.
• 2022Registration of the holding company in the Cayman Islands and the start of in house chip development. The company counts seven successful production tape outs from this year onwards.
• 2023On 14 March the KS1 at 1 TH/s and the KS2 at 2 TH/s are announced, the world's first Kaspa ASIC. April brings the launch of the IceRiver brand, summer the first batch of KS3, September the desktop KS0 and the company's own pool, November the hosting service.
• 2024In January the KS3L, then the KS3M, in April the KS5L, in May the KS5M and KS0 Ultra, in August the AL0 for Alephium, in September the AL3, in October the KS2 Lite. 102849 miners sold, hardware revenue of 192.2 million dollars, and the year closed with a profit of 66.1 million.
• 2025In March the KS7 at 30 TH/s and the KS7 Lite at 4.2 TH/s are shown at an industry expo, and the first batches go out in April. Miners for Aleo appear at the same time. But sales collapse: just 9410 ASICs and 15.3 million dollars from hardware for the year.
• 2025In October the company lists on Nasdaq and immediately announces a bitcoin miner series. The year closes with a loss of 177 million dollars, including 42.6 million of equipment impairment and a rise in the inventory provision from 12.6 to 59.3 million.
• 2026In March a successful production tape out of a bitcoin chip on a 4 nm node is announced. Around the same time a domain dispute arbitration rules that a site on an EU zone address had been passing itself off as the official European distributor while having no relation to the company, and transfers the domain to it.
• 2026In April the dispute over 5325 miners is settled: they had been held at a third party site in the USA after the host defaulted, and now they are back. In May a custom ASIC direction launches, with a first delivery of 3000 units.

The names read simply. KS is Kaspa, AL is Alephium, AE is Aleo. The digit indicates the generation and class. The Lite suffix means a compact miner of 500 watts or less, and the L and M suffixes are versions within a generation. The AE series is not in our catalog.

The asic.es catalog lists 15 IceRiver models: 13 for Kaspa on the kHeavyHash algorithm and 2 for Alephium on Blake3. Power draw runs from 65 to 3500 watts, and six miners out of fifteen stay within 500 watts and run off an ordinary wall socket.

The efficiency spread inside a single algorithm is huge: from 116.67 to 650 J/TH, a factor of 5.6 between the best and the worst miner. Generations matter more here than with most other brands.

Two algorithms, and neither coin is in the top ten. The risk profile here is different from the bitcoin brands: instead of the largest network you are betting on one specific project.

Not a single IceRiver ASIC in our catalog mines bitcoin. The company does have a bitcoin chip, but it is a new development from 2026, and there are no miners built on it in the catalog yet.

IceRiver designs its chips in house and has them manufactured externally. The listing prospectus calls that plant a leading Asian fab outside China and does not name it. Assembly runs through partners in Malaysia and China, and components are sourced in China.

Little is known about the dies themselves. The company claims seven successful production tape outs since 2022, but publishes no process node for the KS, AL and AE series. The only officially stated figure relates to the new bitcoin chip and appeared only in March 2026. Die markings turn up only in the catalogs of repair parts suppliers.

Control boards

Power input differs sharply between classes. Check it before you buy. The desktop KS0, KS0 Pro, KS0 Ultra and AL0, along with the KS2 Lite and KS7 Lite, run on 100 to 240 volts, the voltage of an ordinary Spanish wall socket. The industrial KS7, KS5M, KS5L and AL3 require 200 to 250 volts, while the KS3, KS3M and KS3L accept 170 to 300. The manufacturer publishes no power input data for the KS1 and KS2. The power cable is not included with the large models.

Intake air temperature on most miners is 0 to 35 degrees, and up to 40 on the KS7, KS7 Lite and the desktop AL0. The manufacturer does not publish humidity limits on its product pages. The manuals for the KS0, KS0 Pro and KS5L state less than 90 percent.

Dimensions and weight by class: the industrial chassis is 430 by 195 by 290 millimeters and from 15 to 16.5 kilograms on the KS7, KS5M and AL3, slightly shorter at 370 by 195 by 290 and 14.4 to 15 kilograms on the KS3, KS3M and KS5L, the compact KS7 Lite is about 4 kilograms, and the desktop KS0 series is about 2.5 kilograms in a chassis of 200 by 194 by 74 millimeters.

IceRiver has no hydro or immersion miners: everything is air cooled. The split runs along power classes, and the class determines whether a dedicated line is needed and where the ASIC can be placed.

The stock firmware is managed through a web interface at the miner's address on the local network. No model has wireless networking, cable only. The factory credentials are identical on every ASIC, so out of the box they protect nothing. The manual requires changing the password on first login, and that is not a formality.

You can configure the pool, network settings, firmware updates and the fans. IceRiver stock firmware has no separate operating modes such as eco and high, the way Bitmain or Goldshell do: only airflow is adjustable, and setting fan speed manually disables temperature based automatic control. Diagnostics are read from the control board LEDs: four on the large models, two on the desktop ones. The combinations are described in the manual.

An alarming signal for owners of older ASICs is visible right in the downloads section of the manufacturer's site. Fresh firmware from June 2026 exists for the AL3, KS7, KS7 Lite and AL0, and also for the AL2 Lite, which is not in our catalog. Only the AL2 Lite build is flagged in the release note about fixing hash board dropouts. For the KS5M and KS5L the latest build is dated July 2024, more than two years ago. The builds for the entire range from KS0 to KS3 are dated 2023 and 2024 and have not changed since. The manufacturer's own position, meanwhile, is that updating without a reason is not recommended.

Third party firmware for IceRiver does exist, and that sets the brand apart from Goldshell. An open project covering the KS0 to KS5M series offers arbitrary frequency offsets, voltage control on some models, temperature based fan automation using die readings and proper monitoring, with a developer fee of about one percent. Then the caveats start. It does not support the KS7 and KS7 Lite. The last release is dated August 2024. And the author states plainly that his build contains no frequency or voltage limiters. Our AsicBoost firmware is built for Antminer only and does not install on IceRiver.

On spare parts IceRiver looks noticeably better than Goldshell. The manufacturer sells power supplies, control boards, fans and cables itself in the accessories section. The secondary market offers hash boards, repair kits and even individual ASIC chips one at a time. There are also branded test fixtures used by independent repair shops.

Repairability on IceRiver is medium, and by the standards of altcoin brands that is a good result. The reason is that a spare parts market has taken shape: assemblies, chips and test fixtures are all for sale, and independent services accept the brand. The limitation lies elsewhere: every manufacturer service center sits outside Europe, and there is not a single one in the European Union.

IceRiver publishes no official failure statistics, and there is no public independent data on defect rates either. There are repair shop guides describing the typical faults, plus the open issue tracker of a third party firmware project.

Among typical failures, repair shops name zero hashrate from a board with a dropped chip chain or missing power, partial hashrate caused by signal voltage problems on specific chips, temperature sensor failures, and die degradation from long spells of running overheated. The weak cooling of the desktop KS0 series is noted separately.

There is also an issue confirmed by the manufacturer itself: hash board dropouts, which were fixed by a firmware update. The June 2026 build for the AL2 Lite, which is not in our catalog, was released with exactly that fix, and the AL3, KS7, KS7 Lite and AL0 were updated the same day.

No independent instrument measurements of either noise or actual hashrate on IceRiver miners could be found in public sources. The only figures beyond the specifications relate to overclocking on third party firmware and were published by a pool: on the KS0, rated at 100 GH/s and 65 watts, overclocked builds delivered 140 to 170 GH/s depending on die quality, while consumption rose to 110 or 125 watts. The recommended 90 watt power supply, which is bought separately in the first place, was no longer enough for that: a different unit and extra cooling were needed.

IceRiver moved fast on efficiency: from 650 J/TH in 2023 down to 116.67 in 2025, a five and a half fold gain in two years if you count from the desktop KS0. Within the industrial miners the run goes from 600 to 116.67 J/TH, which is fivefold.

Inside the desktop KS0 series the gap between the KS0 and the KS0 Ultra is 2.6 times. The KS0 Pro and the KS0 Ultra both draw 100 watts, and there the gap is exactly double: for the same electricity you get twice as much. The KS7 Lite meanwhile almost catches the flagship, trailing it by just two percent.

The Bitmain flagship for the same algorithm is rated at 77 J/TH against 116.67 for the KS7, roughly a third better. IceRiver first fell behind Bitmain on efficiency back in 2024, when the Antminer KS5 Pro arrived at 150 J/TH, briefly took the lead back with the KS7 and lost it when the Bitmain flagship arrived at 77 J/TH.

At the current Kaspa price and Spanish electricity rates only isolated miners come out positive, and mostly they are not IceRiver miners. Anything older than the KS7 generation gets bought today either very cheaply or for the heat.

Calculate the profitability of a specific model →

We compare against two brands: Bitmain as the direct competitor on Kaspa and Goldshell as the competitor in the compact class.

IceRiver opened the Kaspa ASIC segment and was first in it until 2025. Today Bitmain has overtaken it on efficiency, and the company itself is publicly pivoting toward bitcoin. The firmware update dates for the older series already show it.

The strengths are real all the same: an established spare parts market, compact miners that run from an ordinary socket, and the KS7 Lite, which delivers flagship efficiency in a four kilogram case. If you go with this brand, the KS7 generation is the one worth looking at, and everything older should be valued as secondary market.

The manufacturer is leaving the segment. This is the main risk of the brand, and it is already happening. Hardware sales for 2025 fell 91 percent in units and 92 in money, the company wrote off warehouse stock and publicly announced a pivot to bitcoin infrastructure. The practical consequence is already visible: KS5 firmware has not been updated since July 2024, and the builds for the KS0 to KS3 series are dated 2023 and 2024.

The state of the Kaspa network. The reward drops every month in a way that halves it over a year, about 96 percent of the entire emission has already been mined, and network hashrate has fallen by roughly 80 percent from its all time high. Payback cannot be calculated on a horizon of years here.

Fake sites and supposed distributors. The brand has many clones, and one of them ended up in arbitration: in March 2026 it was established that a site with an address in the EU zone was passing itself off as the official European distributor while having no relation to the company. The brand has only two official addresses, iceriver.io and bgin.com.

Warranty only for the first buyer. This is the manufacturer's condition and it is an unusual one: the warranty applies only to whoever bought directly. On resale the responsibility passes to the seller. For a buyer in Spain that means the shop's obligations do the work, and the IceRiver warranty never reaches them.

Mixing control boards. Fitting a board from another model is not allowed. It voids the warranty outright, and on the secondary market such boards are sometimes sold as a way to lift an ASIC up to a higher model. That usually ends with the loss of both the warranty and the ability to run.

Third party firmware and traces in memory. The third party project exists and works, but installing it voids the warranty, and traces remain in the miner's memory even after the factory firmware is put back. Until the 180 days of warranty are up, the firmware is best left alone.

Overclocking without limiters. The author of the third party build warns directly that his firmware sets no limits on frequency or voltage. He notes separately the risk of overloading the power supply on the desktop KS0 series, where the recommended 90 watt supply already falls short at 110 and is bought separately in the first place, and the minimal power headroom on the KS3 and KS5.

What is in the box. The desktop KS0 series comes without a power supply, and the larger models come without a power cable. This is an expense that surfaces after delivery.

Half of these points are specific to this brand and to the state of the Kaspa network today.

1. Calculate profitability before buyingAt the current Kaspa price and Spanish rates only isolated ASICs come out positive. Do the math on your own tariff, on a conservative coin price and with the fact that the reward drops every month.
2. Check what comes in the boxThe desktop KS0 series has no power supply included, and the larger models have no power cable. Clarify this before paying so you do not count that money twice.
3. Check the voltage of your lineThe desktop models, the KS2 Lite and the KS7 Lite run from an ordinary socket at 100 to 240 volts. The KS7, KS5M, KS5L and AL3 need 200 to 250, while the KS3, KS3M and KS3L allow 170 to 300. The manufacturer publishes no power input data for the KS1 and KS2. For industrial miners a dedicated line is mandatory.
4. Change the factory password straight awayIt is the same on every ASIC of the brand, so out of the box it protects nothing. The manual requires changing it at first login. After that keep the miner in a separate network segment. And never forward its port to the outside.
5. Do not touch the firmware for the first six monthsThird party firmware voids the warranty, and traces stay in the miner's memory even after the factory build is restored. If you need overclocking, wait until the 180 days are up.
6. Check whether firmware for your model is still updatedFor the KS7, KS7 Lite, AL3 and AL0 there are fresh builds. For the KS5 the latest one is dated July 2024, and for the KS0 to KS3 series the builds are dated 2023 and 2024. Better checked before the purchase.
7. Do not mix control boardsOnly the board from your own model. Otherwise you lose the warranty and, most likely, the ability to run. Ignore offers to lift a lower model up to a higher one by swapping the board.
8. Give the desktop miners airService shops report that cooling on the KS0 series is weak. Do not put it in a niche or behind furniture, add external fans when overclocking and make sure the die temperature does not go above sixty degrees.
9. Keep the air intake within limitsFor most models 0 to 35 degrees, for the KS7, KS7 Lite and AL0 up to 40. The manufacturer does not publish humidity on the product pages. The manuals for the KS0, KS0 Pro and KS5L state less than 90 percent.
10. Buy from a seller with a legal entity in the EUThe manufacturer warranty applies only to whoever bought directly, and the brand has no service center in the European Union. With a local seller the Spanish rule on liability for lack of conformity of goods within three years applies.

Figures from our catalog and from the public reporting of the company.

• 2023The world's first ASIC for Kaspa: the KS1 and KS2, announced on 14 March. Before that the coin was mined on graphics cards. In three weeks of August 2023 alone the network hashrate grew more than fourfold, and against the graphics card level it ended up two orders of magnitude higher.
• 2023Its own pool and hosting. The manufacturer runs its own equipment: the company has been mining since 2019 and its sites are in Nebraska.
• 2024Eight new models in a single year, from desktop units at 100 watts to industrial miners at 3500. Nobody else has put together a range like that for Kaspa.
• 2024Going beyond Kaspa: the AL series for Alephium, and later ASICs for Aleo. Dependence on a single network eased, though thirteen models out of fifteen still mine Kaspa.
• 2025KS7 Lite: 4.2 TH/s at 500 watts and 119.05 J/TH. A compact miner with practically flagship efficiency, and we know of no direct equivalent from competitors today.
• 2025The Nasdaq listing. The finances, shipment volumes and risks became visible from the outside: the sales and loss figures on this page come from the company's own reporting.
• 2026A successful production launch of a bitcoin die on a 4 nm process, the eighth successful die of the company in a row since 2022.
• 2026A win in a domain name dispute: a site passing itself off as the official European distributor turned out to be an impostor, and the domain went to the company. For the buyer that settles where the official channels are: there are two, iceriver.io and bgin.com.