Best Raspberry Pi Crypto Projects
Blockchain has a lot of neat applications, from voting systems to smart contracts. But by far, cryptocurrency remains the most widespread use of blockchain. With a bevy of different cryptocurrencies on the market ranging from well-known platforms like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin to joke cryptos such as Dogecoin and newcomers including Chia, there are loads of cryptocurrencies that you can invest in or mine. For makers, there are plenty of cryptocurrency projects that you can build. Check out the best Raspberry Pi crypto projects you can make at home!
Raspberry Pi Bitcoin Tracker
The crypto market fluctuates with price swings of varying degrees. With a DIY Raspberry Pi-based Bitcoin tracker, you can track information such as price, the number of total Bitcoins in circulation, the number of Bitcoins left to mine, hash rate, and other analytics. A Raspberry Pi board is at the core of this crypto project. For the display, there's an LED matrix. You'll need a few LEDs, some wires, and other common off-the-shelf components. Wood works well for the case, or you may use another material. Design-savvy DIYers may even 3D print a case. Affordable and functional, building a Bitcoin tracker using a Raspberry Pi is a simple yet effective project. If you're keen on tracking other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum or Litecoin, you can easily adapt the code to monitor that data instead.
DIY Raspberry Pi Cryptocurrency Wallet
Although digital wallets like Coinbase are convenient, user-friendly options, cold storage for crypto lends added security. As such, you can create a cryptocurrency wallet using a Raspberry Pi. You'll need little more than a Raspberry Pi board and some software. Since software-based wallets are particularly vulnerable to hacks, a hardware wallet lends additional peace of mind. Tiny and cheap, the Raspberry Pi makes an excellent cold storage crypto wallet solution. In fact, you can even transform the $5 Raspberry Pi Zero or Zero W into a cryptocurrency wallet for an affordable project.
Mine Cryptocurrency With a Raspberry Pi
Because the Raspberry Pi is a computer, you can use it to mine cryptocurrency. It's small and incredibly energy-efficient, so running the Pi 24/7 absolutely sips power compared to a more traditional mining rig. Of course, the trade-off is that most GPU- and CPU- reliant coins can't be mined at even a moderately profitable rate with a Raspberry Pi. Still, if you simply want to learn more about crypto mining, you can easily and quickly spin up crypto miner on a Pi board to start earning Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Monero, or any number of digital currencies. Granted, your gains will be incredibly low.
With certain alt-coins that aren't mined using CPU or GPU power however, the Raspberry Pi can be a competent crypto mining rig. For instance, Chia is a popular cryptocurrency that loads cryptographic numbers onto a harddrive or solid-state drive in what's known as a plot. Plots have a hash and while the Chia blockchain grows, hashes are matched to plots, thereby earning rewrds. Since Chia relies on storage space, it's a potentially lucrative mining operation with a Raspberry Pi.
Bitcoin Address Monitoring Tool Using a Raspberry Pi
If you're serious about cryptocurrency, you'll not only want to watch the price of different coins, but you'll also want to monitor your crypto wallets. For that, you can create a Bitcoin address monitoring tool. An easy but functional project, you'll only need a Raspberry Pi board, an LCD screen a few standard components such as various cables, plus some software. Then, once finished, you'll be able to track the balance of your bitcoin addresses.
Solar-powered Crypto Mining Rig With a Raspberry Pi
A Raspberry Pi crypto mining rig works well enough. But with low yields, even with its low power draw, the Raspberry Pi still isn't going to net you many earnings. However, there's a workaround: solar power. By building a solar-powered crypto mining rig, you're eschewing any home energy use. As such, whatever rewards you earn through mining, those won't be offset by energy consumption of a Raspberry Pi that's plugged in and operating around the clock. Provided that you pick a cryptocurrency such as Monero which is theoretically profitable to mine with a CPU, a Pi-based cryptocurrency mining rig could be a fun project to earn a few monetary rewards while learning more about Raspberry Pi hardware, Pi software, and the crypto space.
The Best Raspberry Pi-based Cryptocurrency DIY Projects You can Build at Home - Final Thoughts
Whether you want to create a cold storage wallet, cryptocurrency price tracker, a mining rig, or something else, a Raspberry Pi is great for many different crypto devices. Although it's not the most lucrative for mining traditional crypto coins, some alt-coins like Chia may be mined. Plus, there are tons of non-mining cryptocurrency projects that you can create including a crypto wallet or price ticker. Happy making, trading, mining, and HODLing!
Your turn: Have you built any Raspberry Pi cryptocurrency projects? Share them with us in the comments below!
Moe Long is an editor, writer, and tech buff with a particular appreciation for Linux, Raspberry Pis, and retro gaming. Writing online since 2013, Moe has bylines at MakeUseOf, TechBeacon, DZone, SmartHomeBeginner, DEV.to, DVD Netflix, and Electropages. You can read his writings on film and pop culture at Cup of Moe, check out his tech reviews, guides, and tutorials at Tech Up Your Life, and hear his thoughts on movies on the Celluloid Fiends podcast. Aside from writing and editing, Moe has an online course, the Beginner's Guide to Affiliate Blogging From Scratch. When he's not hammering away at his keyboard, he enjoys running, reading, watching cinema, listening to vinyl, and playing with his dog Sebastian.
Leave your feedback...