US Man Installs Crypto Mining Rig in Hybrid BMW Sportscar
A U.S.-based cryptocurrency user has installed a mining rig in the trunk of his BMW i8, running the compact setup on the auto’s hybrid-electric power system.
Simon Byrne’s system comprises six Nvidia RTX 3080s graphics cards, popular for mining Ethereum, which can be in operation whilst driving, according to a PC Gamer report Tuesday.
While it can be powered by the hybrid car’s battery, the trunk needs to stay open to avoid overheating.
Byrne also operates a more traditional mining rig said to be capable of generating a profit of $128,088 per year. The BMW setup was first reported by HardwareTimes.
Byrne’s near-$150,000 BMW boasts the Nevada license plate “HODLER” (a community term for holders of cryptocurrency). The vehicle is capable of accelerating to 100 km/hr in 4.4 seconds.
He told PC Gamer he had installed the mining rig in his car “just to annoy gamers.”
Chip-maker giant Nvidia recently said it could potentially restart the production of dedicated graphics processing units for cryptocurrency miners, amid short supplies of the RTX 3080 GPUs.
See also: Crypto Miner Marathon Patent Group Buys $150M in Bitcoin
