Startup 21 Inc. Announces the First Product, a ‘Bitcoin Computer’

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by Tatsiana Yablonskaya · 3 min read
Startup 21 Inc. Announces the First Product, a ‘Bitcoin Computer’
The 21 Bitcoin Computer is a small Linux-based piece of hardware in which the bitcoin protocol is a feature of the operating system. Photo: 21 Inc.

The 21 Bitcoin Computer, an innovative project of 21 Inc., allows buying and selling goods or services for Bitcoin.

21 Inc., a bitcoin company known for its intention to “add bitcoin miner in every device and in every hand”, seems to start putting it into effect. In March it announced the impressive list of investors including Andreessen Horowitz and RRE Venture, Qualcomm Inc., founders of giants PayPal, Dropbox Inc., Expedia Inc. and some others. The final sum raised made up no less than $116 million.

The result wasn’t slow to coming. 21 Inc. announced a new business plan – it turned out that the start-up was working at the development of so called “split chip” technology for the Internet of Things (IoT) enabled devices. ASIC chips for bitcoin mining were intended for such daily devices as routers, gaming consoles, USB battery charges, toasters, set-top boxes and chipsets.

It’s really inspiring to see that the company doesn’t rest on its laurels and continues scaling new heights in bitcoin industry. This time it announced the first computer supporting the bitcoin protocol.

Bearing the name 21 Bitcoin Computer, it can boast of bitcoin built in as an integral part in every single piece of content. Pocket size of the device enables bitcoin developers to make bitcoin transactions without taking their mind off daily routine.

Balaji Srinivasan, CEO at 21 Inc., explained that now a person can create a website and actually benefit from every single page view: “The utility of bitcoin up until this point has been the speculation value. We have a new, pretty strong use case for bitcoin.”

Immediate bitcoin transactions become possible due to 2 basic components. The 21 Bitcoin Computer comprises embedded 21 mining chip being in charge of buying items for bitcoin and 21 micropayments server allowing selling for bitcoin.

The official press release promises that purchasing the 21 Bitcoin Computer enables developers to:

  • instantly mine Bitcoin from the command line;
  • sell API calls for Bitcoin, like English-to-Chinese translation or file conversion;
  • set up your own personal iTunes-like digital goods store;
  • reward peers for posting your links on social media;
  • make any IoT hardware Bitcoin-rentable, from smart locks to 3D printers.

21 Inc. admits that it doesn’t consider introducing the 21 Bitcoin Computer as its final goal. It strives to open the possibility to arrange constant passive income for interested people. “We want to use the success of the 21 Bitcoin Computer to help make Bitcoin the next fundamental system resource, available by default on every new computer. That journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

The 21 Bitcoin Computer is already available for purchase on Amazon for $400. If ordered today, the device will be shipped in November.

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