Siberians use cryptocurrency miners to keep warm

Crazy Commentary : Two entrepreneurs in Irkutsk, Russia, have developed a floor heating system connected to mining hardware. The heat generated by the operation of cryptocurrency mining machines is originally released into the atmosphere. This system can be used to collect heat for home heating.

Translation: Annie_Xu

Two entrepreneurs from Irkutsk, Russia, developed a floor heating system connected to mining hardware

Local entrepreneurs Ilya Frolov and Dmitry Tolmachyov have developed a working prototype of a floor heating system that uses the heat generated by cryptocurrency mining machines. Discussing the prototype with local media, Frolov said, "Usually the mining machines are cooled by blowers, and the heat is then released into the atmosphere. We considered this not rational or environmentally friendly, so we implemented a concept that uses the heat from the computing operations for indoor heating purposes."

Frolov and Tomachyov said they plan to build about 2,000 "cryptohouses" by 2020, each of which will be heated by mining.

More than a thousand people in Irkutsk are involved in cryptocurrency mining, local news reports

The report describes the city as “Russia’s official mining capital” and home to coffee shops that accept Bitcoin. According to Anton Friedel, an executive at Russian startup Bbfpro, Irkutsk will soon also have Bitcoin ATMs; the company has already installed ten Bitcoin ATMs in Russia’s third most densely populated city.

Frolov concluded that Irkutsk’s low electricity costs will certainly attract a large number of cryptocurrency miners; according to local media reports, the city’s electricity prices are about one-fifth of those in Moscow. “The calculated profitability sometimes exceeds the cost of electricity, so it is reasonable to use it in this way.” In recent weeks, Mybroadband.co.za published a story quoting Yury Dromashko, a Russian who sold his apartment to raise funds to create a Bitcoin mine in Irkutsk. Dromashko said, “Mining is a promising business that can help Russians earn hard currency.”