Bitcoin miners are now brute forcing their way to millions with a new weapon -- custom microchips:

To Win the Global Bitcoin Arms Race, Crypto Miners Are Building Custom Microchips | Motherboard

Bitcoin miners are now brute forcing their way to millions with a new weapon -- custom microchips:

Bitcoin is thriving. Over a year after many pundits declared it dead , the virtual currency is holding its value and now being accepted as payment everywhere, from casinos to WordPress to stripper subreddits to drug markets . And what's even more interesting is that a new industry is emerging to support the crazy nerds that mine Bitcoin. The first thing they need: microchips. Anybody can create Bitcoin. Per the rules of its mysterious creator, "Satoshi Nakamoto," all it takes is a piece of free software that can be downloaded from the web and a computer powerful enough to run it. Just like our currency essentially consists of pieces of paper that the government promises is worth money, Bitcoin are unique codes that must be generated using a complex mathematical formula that basically amounts to brute force. Distributed in computers across the world, the software keeps trac...

Full article: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/bitcoin-mining-creating-...

Tweets

@bowbrick » 10 Dec '12, 8pm
RT @TryIt44: Bitcoin speculators are building their own mining hardware, using custom chips: [link]
@TryIt44 » 10 Dec '12, 7pm
Bitcoin speculators are building their own mining hardware, using custom chips: [link]
@yannabraham » 09 Dec '12, 11pm
To Win the Global Bitcoin Arms Race, Crypto Miners Are Building Custom Microchips | Motherboard [link] via @motherboard
@changeist » 06 Dec '12, 2pm
Fascinating on many levels: Bitcoin-optimized chips. [link] #moneyaccelerator
@natalie_shaw » 06 Dec '12, 2pm
RT @andnowhearthis: every time i read about Bitcoins i understand them less. [link]
@andnowhearthis » 06 Dec '12, 2pm
every time i read about Bitcoins i understand them less. [link]
@gusdomi » 06 Dec '12, 2pm
RT @motherboard: Bitcoin miners are now brute forcing their way to millions with a new weapon -- custom microchips: [link]
@motherboard » 06 Dec '12, 2pm
Bitcoin miners are now brute forcing their way to millions with a new weapon -- custom microchips: [link]
@DrunkenSufis » 06 Dec '12, 2pm
RT @motherboard: Bitcoin miners are now brute forcing their way to millions with a new weapon -- custom microchips: [link]
@sistosilvio » 06 Dec '12, 2pm
RT @motherboard: Bitcoin miners are now brute forcing their way to millions with a new weapon -- custom microchips: [link]