The thingmobility and blockchaintechnology have in common are grandiose ideas that promise a lot, but dont consistently deliver.
So can a product that combines both overcome this?
Canadian company, Daymak, believes it can.
Since 2002, Daymak has been the biggest distributor and developer of electric light vehicles in Canada.
It has over 150 dealers, has sold more than 100,000 vehicles, and exports to 25 countries.
For reference, light electric vehicles refer to electric-powered transport like escooters, autocycles, and ebikes.
But what were most interested in today is one of the companys latest EVs:the Spiritus.
This promisescrypto miningcapabilities while it charges, as well as solar EV chargers that do the same thing..
I sat down with Aldo Baiocchi, president of the company, to find out more.
How does a crypto mining car work?
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It looks like a car at the front and an emotorbike from the back.
Cryptocurrency infrastructure calledDaymak Nebulaincludes an onboard GPU embedded into the Spiritus dashboard.
From here the owner can harvest crypto.
Theres no information about whether the hardware includes an ASIC (software-specific integrated circuit.)
I asked Baiocchi why youd want a crypto mining car.
And in our case, we want to use that spare time to mine crypto such as Ethereum.
It offers a range of up to 480km or 300 miles and takes 2 to 4 hours to charge.
So how much money can you make?
Erm, not as much as you might think.
According to Baiocchi:
We ran a test, and we got about $7USD and change per day.
This idea extends to using crypto as a payment with service platforms inside and outside the car.
The software platform can also handle your online bills and your banking in crypto.
Whats the integrity of a crypto mining car?
I had a lot of questions and to be honest, I didnt get a lot of answers.
Ok, a prototype Spritus is live in the wild.
Yet the vehicle is expected to roll out commercially in 2023.
I also wonder about the impact of crypto mining on battery degradation?
Further, the volatility of the coins youre mining may mean you have no profit for your efforts.
And of course, I cant help wondering about the vulnerability of the car to cyberattacks.
This includes over 26,000 Spritus pre-orders.
The company is also working on a solution in response to the environmental impact of crypto mining.
And like Spritus crypto mining, its patent-pending.
So we have no idea if it works at scale.
It also serves alternative uses as an EV charging station, or backup electricity source for two days.
Crypto-savvy consumers will also have the option of installing their own pre-existing mining rig, GPU or ASIC.
Will big ideas meet the road or thrive?
If they pull all of these things off, Canada will be the world leader in car crypto mining.
But will wireless charging work?
How much crypto does a car need to mine to make a profit?
Will we see CryptoSolar Trees in the local car parks of Tim Hortons?
When can I buy a crypto mining ebike?
I have a lot of questions but very few answers.
But if Elon Musk can think big, why cant a Canadian car company think bigger aboutblockchain?
Im not confident, but Im definitely interested.
Grandiose ideas deserve at least that.
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin.
