BitFury Launches Bitcoin Device for the Internet of Things

Bitcoin mining giant BitFury is developing a previously announced prototype of a bitcoin IoT device.

The prototype, originally announced in June last year, takes the form of a consumer light bulb that mines small amounts of bitcoin.

At the time, BitFury positioned it as a project that would deepen understanding of Bitcoin technology while providing an experience platform for developers.

Despite the lack of announcements about the project, BitFury’s head of product Niko Punin noted that the device has gone through several iterations since it was first announced, and the company hopes that the “portable mining rig” will remain the same.

Punin told CoinDesk:

“Our working prototype device, the MicroMiner, has a Wi-Fi chip that also has a Bitcoin mining chip inside it and can serve as a starting point for any electronic IoT device with Bitcoin mining capabilities.”

Punin also said: The device will be officially launched to the open source community once it is completed, but it may appear under another name.

BitFury originally said the project’s goal was to gather ideas, open the project to developers and participate in supporting team projects before choosing to release the “best prototype” for the mass market.

The company also plans to integrate its latest 16mm mining chips into the equipment so that it can launch more updated products as the project progresses.