A pocket-sized computer that lets you buy and sell digital goods and services using Bitcoin has become available for pre-order on Amazon in the US, promising to “return economic power to the individual”. Developed by 21 Inc, a San Francisco-based startup backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, the so-called 21 Bitcoin Computer features a custom mining chip, a micropayments server and a Linux-based operating system. The mining chip lets you buy things with Bitcoin, the micropayments server lets you sell things for Bitcoin, and the operating system generates a constantly replenished source of Bitcoin and a suite of programs written to natively consume it, according to 21 Inc. “We want to make it possible for you to turn your bright idea into passive income by selling Bitcoin – payable goods, games, and services over the Internet through a 21 Bitcoin Computer,” said the company’s chief executive, Balaji Srinivasan, in a blog post. “And we want to use the success of the 21 Bitcoin Computer to help make Bitcoin the next fundamental system resource, available by default on every new computer.” The 21 Bitcoin Computer, which costs $400 (£260) and is aimed at developers rather than consumers, can be used as a standalone machine, or in conjuntion with an existing Mac, Windows or Linux machine to provide a steady stream of Bitcoin. The computer comes bundled with a WiFi adapter, a Raspberry Pi 2, a power supply, a USB-to-laptop cable, and a 128GB SD card loaded with a full copy of the Blockchain. It also comes with a suite of pre-configured Bitcoin-dependent software. “I’m very excited about it,” Ben Horowitz, a co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, told the Wall Street Journal. “The thing that’s completely missing that I think would make the Internet better would be machine-to-machine payments. It’s just amazingly hard to do right now.” He compared the potential of the 21 Bitcoin Computer to early web browsers – in particular Netscape, which he helped to build back in the 1990s and provided a platform for a broad range of applications. The Bank of England also suggested earlier this year that the arrival of electronic currencies could revolutionise the way Britons pay for goods and services, in much the same way as the internet shook up how we access information. The 21 Bitcoin Computer will begin shipping in the US on 16 November 2015. A UK release date has not been announced.