Hot investment: Room heater mines cryptocurrency

A French tech firm is selling a room heater that mines cryptocurrency.

Qarnot’s QC-1 is the first heater to utilise the high temperatures generated by the intense computing power of cryptomining.

The QC-1 mines cryptocurrencies with two graphics processors and is noiseless, the company claims.

A mobile app allows users to set up and personalise the QC-1 once connected to electricity and an internet network.

It costs €2,900 excluding VAT – but the bad news is they’re all sold out.

A company statement reads: “We estimate that a QC-1 can heat a 20qm room. Isolation and ceiling height are obviously factors to take into consideration as well.

“The QC-1 generates a high-quality soft heat – you need less power than with a more ‘classic’ electricity heater.”

The QC-1 crypto heater is an extension of Qarnot’s Q.rad computing heater, released in 2013.

The Q.rad uses heat from microprocessors in offices and other high-computing-intensity businesses to heat properties where it…