\n
<\/p>\n
A project claimed to represent \u201cthe first organic neuron Bitcoin miner based on the fly brain\u201d has gone live. Yes, this is a cryptomining project that leans on the fruit fly connectome recently shared by Google. FutureBit, the company behind the Apollo series of ASIC miners, introduced the world to its HashFly this week. However, HashFly is merely a proof of concept for now.<\/p>\n
Introducing HashFly…the first organic neuron bitcoin miner based on the fly brain. Fun fact if this could be scaled on real organic neurons, it would hash at ~ 1 watt per terahash…10x the efficiency of the best silicon 3nm ASICs! pic.twitter.com\/T2qxBb7XQRSeptember 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n If you open the dedicated HashFly site, you can also participate in this agitation of fruit fly brains in the (vain) hope of a crypto payout. I clicked the ‘Mine’ button and left it running for an hour, for science, and periodically flipped back to the tab to see the gently rotating fly brain\u2019s neuron traces firing. Looking at the website overlay, one can see the web app represents \u201c2,914 traces firing\u201d within the fly\u2019s brain. It is worth mentioning that this figure is just a small subset of the full 165,122 reconstructed neurons in the MaleCNS v1.0 fruit fly connectome.<\/p>\n \n HashFly proof of concept running online <\/span>(Image credit: HashFly)<\/span><\/p>\n We understand that FutureBit\u2019s HashFly focuses on the simulated photoreceptors that would usually sense light in the fly\u2019s eye. These read a block header, and neurons called PPL101 cells light up when a double-SHA-256 target is computed. You can make the target harder and easier by adjusting the \u2018zeros\u2019 up and down. Even at maximum difficulty in this proof of concept (level 6), it is far, far easier than finding a real Bitcoin hash, and I saw about 80 blocks checked off in an hour or so.<\/p>\n Latest Videos From<\/span>Tom’s Hardware<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n What\u2019s the point of this proof of concept? According to its designers, it provides some more insight into the potential efficiency of organic computing, or wetware. \u201cFun fact,\u201d teases FutureBit. \u201cIf this could be scaled on real organic neurons, it would hash at ~ 1 watt per terahash… 10x the efficiency of the best silicon 3nm ASICs!\u201d These guesstimates are based on \u201ctotal power used by the fruit fly, and assuming all neurons could be used to hash Bitcoin functions and continually keep firing,\u201d says the Bitcoin mining hardware maker in a follow-up tweet.<\/p>\n Those who find this experiment interesting may be happy to hear that the HashFly demo will be scaled up to its logical conclusion. \u201cWe are working on simulating all neurons in the dataset with the sha256 hash function and will publish all our findings,\u201d says FutureBit. It certainly needs scaling up if my HashFly web performance of ~100 kH\/s is typical. Compare that to the firm\u2019s 5-inch cube Apollo III, which is claimed to deliver \u201cup to 18 TH\/s of Hashpower.\u201d<\/p>\n We\u2019ve seen a few other fly brain connectome mapping-inspired projects from the fevered minds active on social media over the last week or so. Almost immediately after Google announced it had published the complete brain and central nervous system of an adult male fruit fly, we saw people seeing if it could play Doom, indulge in financial day trading, and many more frivolous pursuits.<\/p>\n \n Another fly-brained crypto project – FlyMiner <\/span>(Image credit: FlyMiner)<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s even a rival cryptomining scheme dubbed the FlyMiner. Visiting this portal, you can see a fruit fly connectome that has been put under the control of an ASIC miner. Visiting that site will also be limited to a brain-nourishing, not money-spinning, activity, as FlyMiner admittedly has \u201calmost zero chance\u201d of mining success.<\/p>\n \n Follow<\/em> Tom’s Hardware on Google News<\/em>, or<\/em> add us as a preferred source<\/em>, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n You may like
\n <\/span><\/p>\n