These Ethereum Mining Rig Trading Cards Are the Nerdiest Thing We've Ever Seen

In what may be the most meta and nerdy application of the blockchain yet, artist Max Dovey has created a set of ‘Magic: The Gathering’ style trading cards featuring Ethereum mining rigs that can be traded on the Ethereum blockchain.

A mining rig is a computer that usually consists of at least one graphics card and stored in ways that range from DIY shelves to futuristic oil baths.

In a Twitter message, Dovey—whose previous crypto art includes a breath-powered mining rig—told me that these these trading cards are based on photos of real Ethereum mining rigs posted on forums between 2015 and 2017.

Each mining rig card includes a picture of the mining rig and its “stats” such as its hash rate, power draw, a description of the rig, and sometimes the occasional funny name: Grampus, Rear Rig, Meow Dao, and Celcius ("a graphics card placed in an oven").

The rigs featured on the cards range from professional looking mini-farms to potential fire hazards, and the power of the card during play (yes, there is a game; more below) varies accordingly. Dovey told me his own breath-powered miner will make an appearance in a future release of cards. One has to wonder if the Tesla and body heat mining rigs will make an appearance, as well.

All the rigs featured on the initial batch of cards were freely appropriated from forums without permission, but Dovey said he doesn’t anticipate their owners getting upset that he’s capitalizing on their builds.

“I appropriated the images, yes, but I would only be selling ERC-20 tokens [digital assets on the Ethereum blockchain] that represent the image,” Dovey told me. “Legally I don’t think there are any serious implications.”

Similar to other blockchain collectables like CryptoKitties, each card contains a unique hash that can be used to validate ownership of the card. The cards are stored using the interplanetary file system—a protocol to store data on a distributed network of computers to eliminate duplicate files and ensure the data can’t be altered—and smart contracts will be used to automatically issue a set number of card editions.

On the game’s website, it outlines a simple battle system to go with the cards. The cards are meant to be played in a ‘Top Trumps’ style game,where two players battle it out by laying down increasingly powerful mining rig cards until one player has collected all their opponent’s cards.

In May, Dovey said he plans to release tokenized versions of the card that can be bought and sold on the Ethereum blockchain. Until then, he has created an initial 25-card set and anyone can email him for a starter pack.

If you have a mining rig of your own, Dovey said you can send him a picture with info to be considered for future cards. Consider this janky rig my submission, Max.