Fruit Fly Brain Used in Unconventional Bitcoin Mining Experiment

FutureBit has conducted an experiment using a digital model of a fruit fly brain to perform SHA-256 computations for Bitcoin mining. The HashFly system uses 2,914 simulated neural connections and runs on conventional computer hardware, but its performance is not comparable to that of ASIC miners. In fact, FutureBit's compact Apollo III ASIC miner can deliver around 18 TH/s, while HashFly operates at a much lower level.

The experiment's most intriguing aspect is the theoretical estimate for a biological version of the system. According to FutureBit, if real neurons could be made to continuously perform mining-related computations, efficiency could reach around 1 watt per TH/s. However, no such system currently exists.