Mining firm Core Scientific will be the first to purchase 3nm chips for bitcoin mining from Jack Dorsey’s Block. The deal’s hash rate context amounts to 15 EH/s.
Today, Core Scientific and @blocks announced an ongoing project involving Block’s latest bitcoin mining chip.
-Core Scientific and Block will work together on a new miner to democratize Bitcoin mining
-Block to supply Core Scientific with ~15 EH/s of new 3 nanometer ASIC mining… pic.twitter.com/nWDnaSG4Tm— Core Scientific (@Core_Scientific) July 10, 2024
The Proto team within the payment firm announced the completion of the chip’s development in April. Previously, the company successfully created a prototype ASIC for mining based on a 5nm process.
Core Scientific and Block will jointly develop a bitcoin mining device based on the 3nm chip with support from equipment manufacturer ePIC Blockchain Technologies.
“By integrating Block’s advanced ASIC chips into Core Scientific’s infrastructure, we aim to provide a modular mining platform that redefines expectations for efficiency and reliability in large-scale operations,” noted ePIC’s CTO Earl Mai.
According to the statement, Proto’s initiative aims to enhance the decentralization, transparency, and resilience of the bitcoin network. The team intends to achieve this by creating mining chips, systems, and software solutions, including a Mining Development Kit currently in beta testing.
“Through this approach, we strive to encourage innovation and expand the bitcoin mining hardware ecosystem. We are excited to see more projects of various types and scales become possible thanks to access to our vertically integrated hardware systems and chips, especially those that bring more innovation to this field,” said Proto’s head Thomas Templeton.
In 2020, Block (then Square) invested $50 million in bitcoin. In May 2024, Jack Dorsey’s company began using 10% of its monthly gross profit related to the first cryptocurrency to purchase additional coins.