The Telegraph reports that a Dutch entrepreneur has had two NFC-enabled chips implanted under his skin, allowing him to store bitcoins in his body.
Martijn Wismeijer, founder of Mr Bitcoin , which operates Bitcoin ATMs in Europe, has also used the chips for other applications. These include programming an alarm to ensure he wakes up on time and plans to install an NFC-enabled door lock at home, allowing him to ditch his house keys.
The glass chips are readable with the iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S5. They measure 12 mm by 2 mm, making for a somewhat painful procedure whose effects are felt for around one day. The chips only store 888 bytes; newer models with more space are being designed but will be more painful to embed. Said Wismeijer:
"Most doctors will not want to install the implant so a body manipulation artist (preferably not just tattoo artist or piercer) will be your next best bet, but make sure they work according to strict hygiene codes and know what they are doing."
He added that supporting these "bio-hacking" experiments is helpful in experimenting what works and what doesn't:
"Imagine a normally invisible tattoo on your arm glowing red when you get a heart attack, swipe your phone and your phone will notify doctor."
Bitcoin private keys are also stored on the chips, so it vital that they are encrypted.
