In Brief:
- Intel is set to unveil an energy-efficient ‘Bonanza Mine’ Bitcoin Mining ASIC.
- Intel will reveal the chip in a presentation scheduled under the Highlighted Chip Releases category at the ISSCC.
- The new chip will put Intel in competition with Bitmain and MicroBT for bitcoin mining ASICs.
Famous chip manufacturer Intel is planning to reveal a new bitcoin mining chip at the ISSCC conference set to be held in February.
According to a Tom’s Hardware report, Intel is preparing a presentation to outline the Bonanza Mine chip, defined as an “ultra-low-voltage energy-efficient Bitcoin mining ASIC.”
Intel has a presentation scheduled under the “Highlighted Chip Releases” category to showcase the new processor.
This puts Intel directly in competition with Bitmain and MicroBT in the market for bitcoin mining ASICs as the company has its own silicon production capabilities.
Bitmain is currently one of the only sellers of specialized silicon, charging miners a high premium for it.
Intel initially displayed interest in the industry in 2018, when it filed a patent for “energy-efficient high-performance Bitcoin mining.”
As per the patent, the ASIC powering the Bonanza Mine will be able to complete calculations just as quickly as other ASICs while avoiding the need for repeated or redundant computations and reducing overall power consumption by 15%.
While discussing the firm’s gaming GPUs in December, GM Raja Koduri stated “I think blockchain is a transaction thing that is run much more efficiently than the burning of hardware cycles,” and it is “something we are working on.”
It is unclear whether Intel will release the new chip to the public or if it will remain embedded in a research project for the time being. But there is no doubt that Intel could be a fierce competitor in the Bitcoin mining industry.
Recently Jack Dorsey’s digital payment firm Block confirmed that it is moving forward with the plan of developing an open bitcoin mining system. Block is analyzing how to achieve the optimal balance of performance and other factors, such as ensuring that the mining rig is efficient with low power consumption and higher hashrates.
