FutureBit is set to debut its Apollo III Bitcoin full node miner at four Micro Center locations on Friday, marking a significant move for Brooklyn’s leading cryptocurrency hardware company. This launch allows customers to visit these retail stores for the first time to purchase one of FutureBit’s innovative Bitcoin miners directly.
The compact Apollo III, which functions as both a home miner and a full Bitcoin node, will be available for sale at Micro Center stores in Brooklyn, Miami, Tustin (California), and Austin (Texas). This event coincides with the grand opening of Micro Center’s new location in Austin, which is the chain’s 31st store in the United States and the third in Texas, according to FutureBit’s announcement.
Customers looking to purchase the Apollo III can also opt to reserve items online for in-store pickup. However, specific details regarding stock availability and pricing at each Micro Center location have not been revealed.
Prior to this retail opportunity, North American customers were limited to ordering the Apollo III directly through FutureBit’s website, where shipments were typically processed within two to three days. The in-store experience allows potential buyers to interact with the hardware, ask questions about its functionality, and even begin operating it the same day.
“When I started FutureBit, I would go to the DIY electronics section at Brooklyn Micro Center every week to buy parts,” said John Stephanopoulos, founder of FutureBit. “On Friday, someone can walk into that same store, ask how Bitcoin mining works, and take home the miner we designed right down the street. We couldn’t be more excited to be working with Micro Center on the launch of our first physical store.”
Understanding the Apollo III Miner
The Apollo III is priced as follows on FutureBit’s website: $1,099.99 for the unit without storage drives, $1,299.99 with a 1 terabyte SSD, and $1,399.99 with 2 terabytes. An alternative “Standard” model, which functions solely as a miner without the node capability, starts at $899.99.
The full node option provides mining capabilities rated at up to 18 terahash per second (TH/s) while operating in turbo mode, consuming approximately 325 watts. In Eco mode, it offers around 12 TH/s at a 150-watt power draw, generating noise levels below 35 decibels. Super Eco mode achieves about 8 TH/s, using only 80 watts, with an adjustable power output ranging from 50 to 400 watts. It’s important to note that measurements may vary up to 10% based on the board’s specifications.
This unit has dimensions of 6.5 inches in length, width, and height, weighs 6.5 pounds, and comes with a one-year limited warranty. The Apollo III is assembled in the USA and features a new US-designed 3-nanometer chip, a custom controller, 8 GB of memory, and a built-in solo mining pool. Note that buyers must provision their own SSD to utilize the full node and solo mining functionalities, as these are not included in the base configuration.
Home Mining: A Different Perspective
As covered by Bitcoin Magazine during the Apollo III’s introduction in February, FutureBit has positioned the product not as a competitor for large-scale industrial mining operations but as a viable option for individual users interested in home mining. The company emphasizes the importance of decentralization and the role of home-based miners within the Bitcoin network.
With its 18 TH/s capability, an Apollo III miner contributes to the overall security and integrity of the Bitcoin network; however, the likelihood of solo miners successfully discovering new blocks is still a long-term endeavor, estimated to take centuries given current network difficulties. Nevertheless, miners operating the Apollo Solo setup recently discovered block 973,262, earning a reward of 3.154 Bitcoin.
Since its inception in 2015, FutureBit has been dedicated to developing consumer-friendly mining hardware. The decision to showcase the Apollo III in physical retail locations is a reflection of Founder John Stephanopoulos’s initial experiences sourcing components and resources from Micro Center. The company has not announced plans to expand this retail initiative beyond the initial four locations.
