HashFly tests fruit fly brain plug-in to reduce Bitcoin mining energy use

HashFly, a London‑based crypto‑tech startup, launched its “HashFly” browser experiment on Monday, claiming the first digital model of a fruit‑fly brain can perform Bitcoin hashing more efficiently than conventional processors. The prototype runs as a browser plug‑in and uses a neural network that mimics the fruit fly’s 100,000‑neuron circuit to solve the proof‑of‑work puzzles that secure the blockchain. In early tests, the model reportedly used 30 percent less energy per hash than a standard GPU, and the company says a future hardware version built from actual biological tissue could boost efficiency even further.

The experiment arrives amid growing scrutiny of Bitcoin’s energy footprint. Critics argue that the network’s power use rivals that of small countries, prompting miners to seek greener solutions. Researchers have turned to neuromorphic computing – hardware that imitates brain structures – because the brain can process information with far less electricity than silicon chips. Fruit flies are a popular target; their brains are tiny, yet they perform complex tasks like navigation and memory with remarkable speed. By translating those neural pathways into a digital form, HashFly hopes to capture the same low‑power advantage for cryptographic work. The project builds on earlier academic work that demonstrated simple neural nets could solve hash functions, and it follows a wave of biotech firms exploring bio‑silicon hybrids for data centers.

HashFly’s initial results have drawn cautious interest from both the crypto community and the scientific field. Independent analysts say the energy savings are promising but note that the current model still lags behind ASIC miners in raw speed. The company plans to open the browser plug‑in to a broader user base in the coming weeks, gathering performance data at scale. If the digital model proves viable, HashFly aims to partner with biotech labs to create a physical chip that integrates living neurons with silicon, a step that could redefine mining hardware. Success could lower Bitcoin’s carbon impact and spark a new niche for bio‑computing, while failure would reinforce the dominance of traditional ASICs. The next month will reveal whether the fruit‑fly brain can truly mine Bitcoin or remain a curious experiment.