[2021-03-29] Game Boy console was taught to mine bitcoin

[Daltonik]

Enthusiasts used the Game Boy portable gaming system to mine cryptocurrency. To run the algorithm, the miners needed a board with a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller and a PC. Only the 4 MHz Sharp processor installed in the Game Boy was used directly for mining cryptocurrencies. The hashrate was 0,8 H/s. it will take 50 thousand years to extract $1 at the current bitcoin exchange rate.

[1714578106]

1714578106

[1714578106]

1714578106

[1714578106]

1714578106

[acquafredda]

This is what money does to nerds: they then spend their time finding ways to reinvent the wheel! 
It is a very funny news but apart from that I do not see the point of modifying a Gameboy to allow it to mine crypto. Only a funny time killer for a nerd who does not know what to do during the day.

[Kakmakr]

Let's be open minded about this....

People are always finding innovative ways to do some things differently and doing this with old Game Boy consoles is actually a good thing. You have to remember that mining Bitcoin with these devices, might be the wrong application for it.. but it might actually be a bit more productive to use this to mine another Alt coin with very low difficulty and some actual profit.

Most of these devices end up in some landfill or just in someone's drawer, so using it to make a little profit... would actually give it some purpose again. ( I have seen some Raspberry Pi enthusiasts, doing something similar with solar powered rigs... and they are mining Alt coins ) 

[Lucius]

Of course, this is not about any possibility of making a profit, but just an example that almost any device can be turned into a mining device. Some of the younger generation probably have no idea that such a device even existed, but at a time when there were no playstations and smartphones, this was one of the top ways to have fun.

Who remembers when Samsung made a mining rig out of 40 of its smartphones (Galaxy S5)? I’m not sure how effective they were then (2017), although they say it was higher than the average desktop computer, but you certainly couldn’t mine BTC with that in terms of expecting a profit. Given the incredible amount of electronics that is thrown away each year, perhaps all of these devices could be used for some good purpose as opposed to creating mountains of garbage.


https://www.vice.com/en/article/3kvdv9/samsung-upcycling-galaxy-s5-bitcoin-mining-rig

[hatshepsut93]

This is what money does to nerds: they then spend their time finding ways to reinvent the wheel! 
It is a very funny news but apart from that I do not see the point of modifying a Gameboy to allow it to mine crypto. Only a funny time killer for a nerd who does not know what to do during the day.

Why are you so harsh towards "nerds"? The person who did this experiment had a lot of fun and probably learned a few things about electronics and Bitcoin mining. There's no better way to learn about something than to get your hands dirty.

This experiment also shows us how insanely big is the gap between Bitcoin ASICs and all other computers in the world, in terms of mining. The general population still has a misconception that you can mine Bitcoin on your computer.

[Lucius]

The general population still has a misconception that you can mine Bitcoin on your computer.

Not only on a personal computer, but also on a smartphone - which leads us to millions of people downloading various applications and mining some coins with them, hoping that they will earn something on that way. The only ones who make money are those who collect their data and show them ads within those same apps.

Ignorance is a great friend of all those who want to make money through fake projects, and the story about Game Boy should be understood only as one interesting thing, and certainly not the last in a series of "I learn my x device to mine BTC".

[stomachgrowls]

The general population still has a misconception that you can mine Bitcoin on your computer.

Not only on a personal computer, but also on a smartphone - which leads us to millions of people downloading various applications and mining some coins with them, hoping that they will earn something on that way. The only ones who make money are those who collect their data and show them ads within those same apps.

Ignorance is a great friend of all those who want to make money through fake projects, and the story about Game Boy should be understood only as one interesting thing, and certainly not the last in a series of "I learn my x device to mine BTC".

We would might see another device that would be modded for this kind of purpose but talking about relevance then i cant say it is totally useless but thats only for some educational purposes or some sort
of hobby or interest on making things possible specially on that Gameboy mod above where it can or really shows of some hashes that it can actually mine compared into those
mobile phone mining apps which are totally piece of crap or just totally been deceiving out those newbie minds out there.

Talking as a whole about its usage then its really works but doesnt mean that it would be worth have any sense on using it.For the sake of hobby and past time then
its not a bad work after all.

[bbc.reporter]

Of course, this is not about any possibility of making a profit, but just an example that almost any device can be turned into a mining device. Some of the younger generation probably have no idea that such a device even existed, but at a time when there were no playstations and smartphones, this was one of the top ways to have fun.

Who remembers when Samsung made a mining rig out of 40 of its smartphones (Galaxy S5)? I’m not sure how effective they were then (2017), although they say it was higher than the average desktop computer, but you certainly couldn’t mine BTC with that in terms of expecting a profit. Given the incredible amount of electronics that is thrown away each year, perhaps all of these devices could be used for some good purpose as opposed to creating mountains of garbage.


https://www.vice.com/en/article/3kvdv9/samsung-upcycling-galaxy-s5-bitcoin-mining-rig

I remember this. I showed that article to smooth because Aeon might be interested in it as a project that pivoted towards running in mobile devices after the hardfork from Monero. I reckon that there might be a future for lightweight nodes and mining through mobile devices.

[carlfebz2]

This is just similar when HDD's are being used to mine.
Everything can be invented eh?

[cr1776]

Enthusiasts used the Game Boy portable gaming system to mine cryptocurrency. To run the algorithm, the miners needed a board with a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller and a PC. Only the 4 MHz Sharp processor installed in the Game Boy was used directly for mining cryptocurrencies. The hashrate was 0,8 H/s. it will take 50 thousand years to extract $1 at the current bitcoin exchange rate.

I find "taught" to be an interesting choice of words here as Game Boys can't learn.  I wonder why they didn't use programmed or other similar word.  Seems odd.

[Streets 2.0]

The higher the price of cryptocurrency, the more such experiments there will be)) Soon they will try to adapt each toaster for such mining. It's really funny, but everyone understands that this has nothing to do with serious prey. It's just fun but it looks really impressive! As a kid, I spent a lot of time playing Game Boy) How many old gadgets are on the way to test them for mining?

[Daltonik]

Experiments with retro technology continue, developer Maciej Witkowiak created the C64 Bitcoin Miner software specifically for the vintage Commodore 64 PC, which was sold from August 1982 to April 1994. It had an 8-bit MOS Technology 6510 processor running at just over 1 MHz, 64 KB of RAM, and a VIC-II graphics chip. On the VICE emulator, he demonstrated a hashrate of 0.2 H/s. C64 will take 337 years and 10 months to mine the block. https://www.hackster.io/news/you-can-now-mine-bitcoin-using-your-vintage-commodore-64-49057d732c47

[hopenotlate]

Enthusiasts used the Game Boy portable gaming system to mine cryptocurrency. To run the algorithm, the miners needed a board with a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller and a PC. Only the 4 MHz Sharp processor installed in the Game Boy was used directly for mining cryptocurrencies. The hashrate was 0,8 H/s. it will take 50 thousand years to extract $1 at the current bitcoin exchange rate.

I find "taught" to be an interesting choice of words here as Game Boys can't learn.  I wonder why they didn't use programmed or other similar word.  Seems odd.

hehe I too was struck by this dialectical choice : reveals the emotional value that the old gameboy has for his "teacher" ... as if he were his puppy.

Anyway agree with the ones saying it is a great and funny way to learn something new and receive some gratification.