BlockGrid: Bitcoin Price Ticker Display (ESP32 + HUB75)

BlockGrid is a desk-size Bitcoin dashboard built on a HUB75 LED matrix and an ESP32. It shows the current block height, the price and its 24-hour change, and how many sats a dollar, euro or ¥100 buys. A flexible 96×48 LED panel curves around this 3D-printed case and is held on by magnets.

Firmware, wiring diagrams and the full build guide: github.com/n0cturnality/BlockGrid
Try it in your browser first: n0cturnality.github.io/BlockGrid (a simulator of the panel and its web control page)

What to print

• BlockGrid_top: the curved shell the panel sits on. Print one.

• One of the two bases:

  • BlockGrid_base_with_buttons: two buttons on the back for brightness, theme and currency.

  • BlockGrid_base_no_buttons: everything is done from the web control page instead.

Each part also comes as a STEP file for remixing.

Print settings

• PLA+, 0.2 mm layers, 3 walls, 20% infill

• Supports: yes, tree supports (the slicer's default)

• Brim: mouse ears

• Print the top standing on its edge and the base lying flat, as in the print layout picture.

• The parts are about 241 mm long. On a smaller bed, print them one at a time, diagonally if needed.

Hardware

• Waveshare flexible RGB LED matrix, 96×48, 2.5 mm pitch (RGB-Matrix-P2.5-96x48-F). Its ribbon and power cables are included.

• ESP32 DevKit V1 (ESP-WROOM-32), 30-pin, and a screw-terminal breakout board for it

• 5 V power supply, 2 A minimum, centre positive, with a barrel plug that fits the jack

• Panel-mount barrel jack, 2.5 mm centre pin, with fixing nut

• Short USB-C extension cable, male to female, so the ESP32 can be reached from the back

• 7 to 16 neodymium disc magnets, 10 × 2 mm (N52 recommended)

• 9 × M3 heat-set inserts (4 mm long, 5 mm outside diameter)

• 8 × M3 × 6 mm countersunk hex socket screws, and 1 × M3 × 40 mm socket head cap screw

• Buttons version only: 2 × 6 × 6 mm tactile buttons with a long round actuator, a 30 × 30 mm prototype board (8 × 11 holes) and some 28 AWG wire

• Recommended: 1000 µF and 100 µF electrolytic capacitors (10 V or higher) and a 1N5819 Schottky diode, to keep the power clean and protect your computer's USB port

BlockGrid draws about 0.4 A at full brightness, so a 2 A supply has plenty of headroom.

Assembly

1. Melt the heat-set inserts into the case.

2. Glue the magnets into the pockets around the rim. If the pads on the back of your panel are magnetic, check each magnet attracts before gluing it.

3. Screw the breakout board inside the case (4 × M3 × 6) and plug in the ESP32.

4. Fit the barrel jack (hole marked 5V), the USB-C extension (opening marked "data"; glue the socket lightly in place) and, on the buttons version, the button board (2 × M3 × 6).

5. Wire the panel's ribbon cable, the power and the buttons. The colour-coded diagrams are in the pictures and on GitHub.

6. Upload the firmware and test it before closing up.

7. Join the top and the base from underneath: the M3 × 40 in the centre and an M3 × 6 at each end.

8. Plug in the panel and lay it onto the front. The magnets hold it in place.

Firmware

Upload with the Arduino IDE (ESP32 board package 3.3.12). The install steps list the four libraries and the two settings to check: PANEL_VERSION (from the label on the back of the panel) and HAS_BUTTONS (1 or 0, to match the base you printed). Wi-Fi is then set up from your phone through BlockGrid's own setup network.

License

Original files on Github are available under MIT.