Only one after its debut, Intel puts an end to its production of ASICs dedicated to bitcoin mining.
Arrived too late, left too soon
It’s already over for Blockscale ASICs, which had an efficiency of 26 joules per Terahash. This is a little worse than the flagship of its Chinese competitor Bitmain, the Antminer XP and its 21 J/Th.
Unfortunately, Intel only provided its customers with the ASIC chips themselves, not providing a complete ASIC system, as Bitmain, MicroBT, etc. have always done.
So despite clients like Block, Hive, and GRIID, the demand probably wasn’t there. Especially since Intel’s ASICs arrived on the market in the midst of the bitcoin crash.
In addition, Intel is in the process of restructuring. “The next phase of our IDM 2.0 strategy requires a fundamental shift in mindset. We have to adopt a foundry model”To declared Intel CEO By Gelsinger last October.
A foundry is a company specializing in the manufacture of semiconductors (or electronic chips) on behalf of other companies specializing in their design. Hence the cessation of production of Blockscale ASICs, which precisely require design efforts.
Intel wants to adopt the same strategy as the world leader TSMC by refocusing on its core business. The goal is to catch up on technology. The Taiwanese indeed produces 90% of the latest generation chips, in particular in 5 and 3 nm.
As part of its IDM 2.0 strategy, Intel plans to invest heavily in manufacturing semiconductors on American soil. In January, the company pledged more than $20 billion towards the construction of two new foundry plants in Ohio, in addition to the $20 billion already announced for two other “fabs” in Arizona.
Intel told Tom’s Hardware ending production of Intel Blockscale ASICs for “prioritizing our investments in IDM 2.0”.
Intel will, however, continue to support its Blockscale customers. On whether the semiconductor giant is quitting bitcoin mining for good, the company says it will continue “to watch for opportunities”.
In other words, Intel could change its mind if bitcoin continues to appreciate.
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