Intel Launches Energy Efficient Crypto Mining Chip Blockscale

Key Insights:

• The new chip will be more energy efficient than those from rival Bitmain. 
• Blockscale will deliver up to 580 GH/s with as much as 26 J/TH.
• Major mining firms have already put in orders for the new chip.

The microchip manufacturer has doubled down on its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments with a new processor focused on energy efficiency and sustainability.

The new Blockscale chip announced on April 4 will provide up to 580 gigahashes per second (GH/s) of hash rate with as much as 26 joules per terahash (J/TH). This makes it more efficient than the flagship Bitmain equivalent when used in an array.

General manager of Blockchain and Business Solutions at Intel [INTC], Jose Rios, commented:

“The Intel Blockscale ASIC is going to play a major role in helping bitcoin mining companies achieve both sustainability and hash rate scaling objectives in the years ahead,”

ASIC refers to an application-specific integrated circuit which is a system designed specifically for a particular task, in this case, crypto mining.

Greener Mining Solutions

Bitcoin [BTC] and its proof-of-work brethren have recently come under a lot of scrutiny over the power demands of the mining process. As a result, many mining operations are seeking renewable energy sources or more efficient hardware.

Balaji Kanigicherla, Intel vice president and general manager of Custom Compute in the Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group, commented on solutions that can deliver a balance of hashing throughput and energy efficiency, adding:

“Intel’s decades of R&D in cryptography, hashing techniques, and ultra-low voltage circuits make it possible for blockchain applications to scale their computing power without compromising on sustainability.”

The company stated that the new Intel Blockscale chip shipments would begin in the third quarter of 2022. The first companies to develop new systems based on the architecture include Argo Blockchain, Block (formerly Square), Hive Blockchain Technologies, and GRIID Infrastructure.

Following Bonanza Mine

The new addition to Intel’s ASIC lineup follows the launch of the Bonanza Mine chip in February. Blockscale is essentially just the chip, whereas Bonanza Mine was marketed as a complete mining system with 300 chips delivering up to 40TH/s at 3,600 watts of power consumption.

The crypto mining industry is currently suffering from a chip shortage due to pandemic-induced supply chain problems.