---
title: "Bitcoin Miners Are Heating Chicken Coops With Their Rigs"
description: "Bitcoin miners and PC gamers are keeping their homes warm using the heat generated by their computers, as The Wall Street Journal reports."
date: "2021-01-19"
modified: "2021-01-19"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/bitcoin-miners-heating-chicken-coops-rigs"
categories:
  - "Bitcoin"
  - "Blockchain"
  - "Cryptocurrency"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "cryptocurrency mining"
  - "gaming"
  - "the digest"
---

# Bitcoin Miners Are Heating Chicken Coops With Their Rigs

![Bitcoin miners and PC gamers are keeping their homes warm using the heat generated by their computers, as The Wall Street Journal reports.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/bitcoin-miners-heating-chicken-coops-rigs.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Image via Pixabay/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Space Heater

Cryptocurrency mining computers don't just eat up a ton of power; they can also put out so much heat that some miners are making their rigs work double duty by mining bitcoin and keeping their homes warm, as [*The Wall Street Journal* reports](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/computer-videogame-bitcoin-mining-heat-11611072131>).

In fact, some cryptocurrency miners are using their beastly systems to warm chicken coops in the winter, or maintaining temperatures in small greenhouses.

"It was like those heaters on a restaurant patio," a crypto miner named Thomas Smith, who set up such a system in his garage, told the *WSJ*. "I made a caprese salad."

## Toasty Gamers

Mining rigs frequently use cutting-edge GPUs also found in high end gaming PCs, which also put off a lot of heat.

"I’ll strip down to shorts and a T-shirt if I’m playing an extended session," a gamer named Jesse Zmick told the *WSJ*.

"It’s better than a space heater," another gamer, named Kyle Burger, told the newspaper, "because you can’t play games on a space heater."

Even KFC has gotten wind of the trend, designing a gaming computer nicknamed [KFConsole](<https://landing.coolermaster.com/kfconsole/>) with partner and components maker Coolermaster. The round desktop PC has a special chamber designed to keep its fried chicken warm.

**READ MORE:** [Chilly This Winter? Cozy Up to the Computer That’s Mining Bitcoin](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/computer-videogame-bitcoin-mining-heat-11611072131>) \[*The Wall Street Journal*\]

**More on mining crypto:** *[Analysts: Bitcoin Mining Costs More Than Its Worth](<https://futurism.com/analysts-bitcoin-mining-costs-more-worth>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)