BitFury Moves Ahead on Bitcoin Device for Internet of Things

Bitcoin mining giant BitFury is moving ahead with development of a previously announced prototype for a bitcoin-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) device.

The original prototype, announced last June, took the form of a consumer light bulb that was capable of mining small amounts of bitcoin.

BitFury

positioned the project at the time as one that would promote understanding of bitcoin technology, while providing developers with a platform for experimentation.

Despite a lack of public announcements on the initiative, BitFury head of product Niko Punin stated that the company’s vision for the "portable mining device" remains unchanged and that the device has simply undergone "multiple iterations" since it was first revealed.

Punin told CoinDesk:

"We have a working prototype of a device with a working title 'MicroMiner' that has a Wi-Fi chip and a bitcoin mining chip built inside. It can be used as a starting point for any electronic IoT device that has bitcoin mining capability built in."

The device will be open-sourced to the community when finished, Punin said, though it may be launched under a different name.

BitFury had originally suggested it aimed to collect ideas, open the project to developers and engage support teams on the project, before selecting the "best prototypes" for a mass market release.

Punin went on to note that the company plans to integrate its latest 16nm mining chip into the device, and that more updates would be likely as the project moves forward.

Image of original prototype via John Dill for BitFury