People will soon enjoy Bitcoin mining from the comfort of their couch as Canaan announces a mining-enabled TV.
Cryptocurrency mining has changed a bit over the years. People used to mine cryptocurrencies with their normal computers, but such mining endeavors are now typically carried out by companies using banks of specialized rigs. Crypto mining has made its way to browsers and even mobile devices. Soon, people will be able to use their TV for a bit of Bitcoin mining as they watch their favorite shows.
Not MTV – Bitcoin Mining TV!
The world’s second largest manufacturer of cryptocurrency mining hardware, Canaan, has announced the AvalonMiner Inside TV. This TV will undertake mining at the rate of 2.8 trillion hashes per second. While not as powerful as the most muscular rig of Canaan’s, which clocks in at 11 trillion hashes per second, it’s still a pretty potent piece of hardware as it is a fully functioning television.
The AvalonMiner Inside can figure out the current rate of mining profitability in real-time. The TV is powered by artificial intelligence and boasts voice control. Canaan offers a platform where users can spend their mined cryptocurrency for products or entertainment content. Just think, by the time you finish binging the latest season of Daredevil on Netflix, your TV might have earned you enough crypto to rent the latest Avengers movie (hopefully one where your favorite heroes don’t die).
It appears that Canaan won’t be actively selling these TVs directly to customers. Instead, they’ll be sending the AvalonMiner Inside TVs to companies that sell electronics to the public. While some skeptics may consider this development nothing but hype, it could be a very positive step.
The march to make household appliances smarter and more useful is accelerating. The Internet of Things (IoT) effect is growing, with 8.4 billion IoT devices already in existence. So why not a TV that also mines cryptocurrency?
Mining Energy Use Concerns Overblown
One interesting factoid that has recently emerged concerns the industry’s energy consumption. It’s a common refrain that mining uses an incredible amount of power, leading to a lot of shrill observations that mining’s growth will lead to dire consequences. However, such fear mongering may have been overblown.
Christopher Bendiksen and Samuel Gibbons, analysts from CoinShares Research, found that the power consumption of the crypto mining community came to around 35 terawatts per hour. This is almost half the accepted figure of 65 terawatts per hour that is commonly reported.
The analysts base their figure on several factors. One is that many Bitcoin mining operations have moved to colder climates, meaning that less power is used to keep the rigs cooled. Probably the biggest factor is that hardware efficiency is practically doubling with every passing year. Just like any other device in your home, new innovations ensure that a current model does more while actually using less energy to do so.
The CoinShares Research analysts conclude:
Our total findings suggest that the bitcoin mining industry is relatively healthy, profitable and continues to grow at breakneck speeds. The hash rate is tripling on an annual basis while the efficiency of the hardware is rapidly increasing and costs are coming down.
Will you buy a Bitcoin mining TV? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
