Ken Shirriff implemented the SHA-256 hash algorithm and ran it on the vintage Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) that they’re restoring: We’ve been restoring an Apollo Guidance Computer. Now that we have the world’s only working AGC, I decided to write some code for it. Trying to mine Bitcoin on this 1960s computer seemed both pointless […]
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Bitcoin mining on a vintage Xerox Alto computer
Ken Shirriff writes: I’ve been restoring a Xerox Alto minicomputer from the 1970s and figured it would be interesting to see if it could mine bitcoins. I coded up the necessary hash algorithm in BCPL (the old programming language used by the Alto) and found that although the mining algorithm ran, the Alto was so […]
Bitcoin mining on a 55 year old IBM 1401 mainframe: 80 seconds per hash
Ken Shirriff writes: Could an IBM mainframe from the 1960s mine Bitcoin? The idea seemed crazy, so I decided to find out. I implemented the Bitcoin hash algorithm in assembly code for the IBM 1401 and tested it on a working vintage mainframe. It turns out that this computer could mine, but so slowly it […]