Intel’s electronic component manufacturer could unveil a chip specially dedicated to Bitcoin (BTC) mining during the ISSCC conference in February. It would be a low voltage system that would consume very little power. A solution to the energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) process?
Intel could announce a chip dedicated to mining.
According to computer news site Tom’s Hardware, Intel may soon announce a chip dedicated explicitly to Bitcoin (BTC) mining.
Specifically, it would be an “ultra-low-voltage, low-power Bitcoin mining ASIC .” The project would a priori be called “Bonanza Mine“.
ASICS are machines dedicated to mining that incorporate chips configured specifically for this activity.
Little information is currently available, but we should learn more during the virtual ISSCC conference, which will take place from February 20 to 28.
The ISSCC is an international conference on technological advances relating to semiconductor circuits and systems embedding computer chips. This speciality includes what’s new in Central Processing Units (CPUs) and Graphics Computing Units (GPUs). More simply, these are the processors and graphics cards found in our computers.
Suppose it turns out that the mining system announced by Intel is low in power consumption. In that case, it could create a small revolution within the community of miners. Power consumption and ecological impact are the two most significant faults with which mining systems are concerned.
The manufacturer Intel does not start mining.
In 2018, Intel had filed a patent for an SHA-256 (Hash Function in the Form of Cryptographic Algorithm) processing system optimized for Bitcoin mining.
Just a few weeks ago, the firm announced the future marketing of its first graphics cards called “Arc” for the current year 2022. Again, little information leaked, but the manufacturer revealed that cards would not be restricted to minors.
This latest development is in direct opposition to the choice of the manufacturer Nvidia, which largely dominates the graphics card market with more than 80% of the shares.
To dissuade “scalpers” from investing in its equipment, Nvidia has introduced “LHR” (light hash-rate) technology in its cards. Indeed, it’s been a real obstacle course to finding a graphics card for a few years, and this especially at reasonable prices.
Almost all models of graphics cards have been out of stock for a while now. This challenge is because of miners who often own a considerable number.
We can, therefore, hope that the graphics card market will regain its stability through Intel’s announcement. Moreover, they can achieve this stability if the new mining systems present an exciting cost/ income ratio.
