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 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 boot 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) and is capable of accelerating to 100 km/hr in 4.4 seconds.
- He told PC Gamer that 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
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