Intel Launches New Energy-Efficient Chip for Bitcoin Mining

The newly developed processor for the proof-of-work algorithm can deliver up to 580 GH/s hash rate and can operate up to 26 J/TH power efficiency.

The tech giant believes the new processing chip, Blockscale ASIC, will be a gamechanger that empowers blockchain applications to maintain decentralization via proof-of-work while asserting the principle of environmental sustainability.

Scalability and Sustainability

Intel, one of the largest semiconductor chips manufacturers in the world, launches a new application-specific integrated circuity (ASIC) dedicated to blockchain hashing.

According to Intel’s release, proof-of-work algorithms that are compatible with ASIC-based systems and SHA-256 hashing will be able to adopt Intel Blockscale ASIC. The chip, compatible with bitcoin mining, features capabilities of sensing on-chip temperature and voltage and supports up to 256 integrated circuits per chain.

The chip giant also stated that scalability and sustainability are two major issues Blockscale ASIC is to address. It will provide the energy efficiency and computing power needed to power blockchains that operate on proof-of-work consensus “in a responsible way,” according to Jose Rios, general manager of Blockchain and Business Solutions in the Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group at Intel.

Intel added that decades of experience in cryptography, hashing techniques, and ultra-low voltage circuits render Intel-powered proof-of-work protocols to “scale their computing power without compromising on sustainability.”

Publicly traded blockchain companies, including Argo Blockchain, Block Inc., and Hive Blockchain Technologies, will be among the first institutions to develop new mining systems that are integrated with Intel’s ASIC. The company’s first shipment to customers is scheduled for the Q3 of 2022, and it will expand its global partnerships in 2023 and beyond.

Intel as the Leader of the Semiconductor Industry

The news of launching Blockscale ASIC came after the company had claimed that circuit innovations would deliver a blockchain accelerator that had over 100 times better performance per watt than mainstream GPUs for SHA-256 based mining. Among all the new products, the “Bonanza Mine” processor, described as an “ultra-low-voltage energy-efficient Bitcoin mining ASIC,” was branded as the upcoming chip for the mining industry.

As reported previously by CryptoPotato, the other newly released Intel ACM-G10, the chip mostly for digital gaming, is 406 mm² in size and has 21.7 billion transistors, both values bigger than AMD Navi 22 and NVIDIA GA104, supposedly the main competitors for this ARC GPU.