Getting high-speed graphics cards for crypto mining in the market today can be troublesome, as most GPUs are currently sold out or out of stock from retailers, thanks to the minimal supply lines due to COVID-19. However, there is another way to mine cryptocurrency using an old Game Boy console, as shown by YouTuber Stacksmashing.
Bitcoin Mining Using a Nintendo Game Boy
According to Stacksmashing, crypto mining Bitcoin from a 20-year-old Game Boy is possible, with some tools to use. The YouTuber had some old wires and gadgets lying around his house and an old Game Boy to do the mining.
To use the console as a crypto mining machine Stacksmashing presented an old Game Boy console with a USB flashcard to run software to the gaming console, a Raspberry Pi Pico that allows the console to connect to a PC, and a modified Link Cable to connect directly with the BTC network.
The YouTuber then used GBDK, an open-source Gameboy development kit written with the C programming language. With all that hardware setup, Stacksmashing implemented a SHA256 from open-source firmware created by the Trezor hardware wallet manufacturers with all that hardware setup. To get the full scoop of how Stacksmashing made the Game Boy into mining Bitcoin, click on the video below.
Bitcoin Mining on Game Boy Not Practical
The Verge reported that the purpose of crypto mining using a Game Boy is to show new alternatives to mine Bitcoin, as crypto mining has never been easy. Also, the shortage of graphics cards in the market is a hassle for some. However, the Game Boy manage to process only 0.8 hashes per second, which pales greatly in comparison to a modern PC that can do 100 terahash per second,
According to Stacksmashing, he can earn Bitcoin for about quadrillion years, a pretty slow earning time. But he noted that Game Boy Bitcoin mining only runs with four AA batteries, which is a much less efficient way of crypto mining.
Also Read: Tesla Cars for Sale: How to Buy Using Bitcoin
Cnet noted that getting the Game Boy running and crypto mining were the easy parts of the process, while the hard part was connecting it to the internet and waiting for it to mine Bitcoins. While it is not recommended to crypto mine Bitcoin from a Game Boy, it remains a fact that it is an impressive feat for the YouTuber to make it work.
Bitcoin News reported that some years ago, there were others like Stacksmashing that used other machines to mine Bitcoin from, such as Ken Shirriff--known for getting the Bitcoin symbol added to Unicod--who had shown four years ago how he could mine Bitcoin with an old Xerox Alto. Shirriff also mined Bitcoin from a 55-year-old IBM 1401 back in 2015, while another miner used a Nintendo Entertainment System for mining cryptocurrency.
The publication stated that any machine that can crunch numbers could actually mine Bitcoin, as long as people have the proper knowledge and understanding of the technology they have surrounding them.
Related Article: How Are BTC Created?
