MicroBT Enters the Petahash Club, Taking Bitcoin Mining Rigs to a New Extreme

Over the past year, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) technology has advanced substantially, and this month, Shenzhen, China-based MicroBT introduced its newest mining machine, boasting an unprecedented hashrate of 1,035 terahash per second (TH/s), equivalent to 1.35 petahash per second (PH/s) of raw computing power.

MicroBT Crosses the Petahash Rubicon With a New Whatsminer

At the Bitcoin MENA 2025 conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE, MicroBT introduced its new M70 series. The machine places the company alongside Bitmain as a manufacturer offering an ASIC capable of delivering more than a single petahash of SHA256 hashrate.

The MicroBT Whatsminer M79S is a hydro-cooled bitcoin mining machine capable of delivering 1.35 PH/s. That figure edges past Bitmain’s Antminer S23 Hydro 3U, which generates 1.16 PH/s of hashpower. At present, no other mining machines on the market deliver a full petahash per second of computational power beyond these two models.

The new Whatsminer draws roughly 20,000 watts from the wall and carries a stated efficiency rating of about 14.8 joules per terahash (J/TH). Bitmain’s S23 Hydro 3U is somewhat lighter on power consumption, drawing 11,020 W, and its 9.5 J/TH rating reflects a more efficient design.

That efficiency gives the S23 Hydro 3U a slight advantage in present-day profitability. For example, on Dec. 18, 2025, based on prevailing hashprice data, Bitmain’s unit is projected to generate about $33.21 per day, compared with an estimated $31.76 for the Whatsminer M79S. However, the M79S also includes a “normal mode” rather than an overclocked setting, drawing 14,000 W and delivering an efficiency rating of 13.5 J/TH when operating in that configuration.

Even so, the two machines stand as the most profitable bitcoin miners available today and mark the forefront of ASIC mining hardware as of late 2025, competing head-to-head for placement in large-scale industrial mining operations focused on maximizing throughput. The timing aligns with exceptionally tight mining economics, as hashprice hovers near all-time lows and operators increasingly depend on highly efficient machines to remain competitive.

Given its leading-edge specifications, the M79S appears well-suited for industrial-scale deployments in 2026. Its arrival coincides with a milestone moment for the network, which has pushed beyond a single zettahash per second (ZH/s) of hashrate—equivalent to 1,000 exahash per second (EH/s). Should operators begin deploying petahash-class machines at scale, Bitcoin’s hashrate is poised to strengthen further in the period ahead.

Also read: Bitgo Adds Lightning Network Support to Custody Platform

For the moment, however, miners remain under earnings pressure, with onchain fees contributing less than 1% of the block reward and BTC prices sliding into the $80,000 range in November 2025. The price increase hasn’t really helped miner revenue so far in mid-December.

In that sense, the M79S or the S23 Hydro 3U is less a vanity flex and more a signal of where mining is headed next. As margins tighten and the network pushes deeper into zettahash territory, brute force alone no longer cuts it—efficiency, scale, and deployment discipline now decide winners and losers.

In the meantime, one thing is clear: petahash-class machines are no longer theoretical. They are here, they are competing, and they are quietly rewriting the economics of industrial bitcoin mining heading into 2026.

FAQ ⚡

• What is the MicroBT Whatsminer M79S?
  The MicroBT Whatsminer M79S is a hydro-cooled bitcoin mining machine capable of delivering 1.35 PH/s of SHA256 hashrate for industrial-scale operations.
• How does the M79S compare to Bitmain’s Antminer S23 Hydro 3U?
  The M79S offers higher raw hashrate overclocked, while Bitmain’s S23 Hydro 3U consumes less power and posts stronger efficiency metrics.
• Why are petahash-class bitcoin miners important in 2025?
  Petahash-capable ASICs allow large mining operators to remain competitive as Bitcoin’s network hashrate exceeds 1 ZH/s and mining margins tighten.
• When is the M79S expected to be deployed at scale?
  The M79S is positioned for broader industrial deployment in 2026 as miners seek higher throughput with controlled energy use.

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