Final Miner, 2022, acrylic enclosure, LED monitor, Ethereum mining rig (motherboard, three graphics processing units (GPUs), battery, hard drive, Windows OS), 19.3 x 13.4 x 10.6 inches (49 x 34 x 27 cm)
The Final Miner is a black acrylic enclosure for a computer designed to mine the ethereum (ETH) cryptocurrency. This sculpture was installed and activated in late August 2022 to run proof-of-work verifications on the ETH network – a computationally and energy intensive process. The writing of blocks to a decentralized ledger is the proof of work, which is rewarded with cryptocurrency tokens, with the proceeds, in the case of Final Miner, going to the virtual wallet of Enxuto and Love.
The Final Miner is a black acrylic enclosure for a computer designed to mine the ethereum (ETH) cryptocurrency. This sculpture was installed and activated in late August 2022 to run proof-of-work verifications on the ETH network – a computationally and energy intensive process. The writing of blocks to a decentralized ledger is the proof of work, which is rewarded with cryptocurrency tokens, with the proceeds, in the case of Final Miner, going to the virtual wallet of Enxuto and Love.
Final Miner is the last in a trio of cryptocurrency mining sculptures that the artists have made since 2018. Since September 15 Final Miner has become an inert object on a shelf at Banner Repeater. The computer display which streamed a sequence of mining hashes has gone dark and the black acrylic enclosure now serves as a casket.