Intel, the chip manufacturing behemoth, intends to create a big impact in the crypto world next month with the launch of “Bonanza Mine chip,” which is slated to be specifically designed for Bitcoin mining with low energy consumption. The company intends to introduce the ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) chip at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC).
There is little data available at the moment. Notably, Intel has been assigned a spot under the category of Highlighted Chip Releases to be conducted on February 23, according to a dossier, with briefings slated to occur from Hillsborough, Santa Clara, and San Diego, California locations.
Intel has not said if it will demonstrate a commercial product or only a sample processor. Intel has already been mulling its entrance into the Bitcoin industry for quite some time, as Tom’s Hardware reported. The US Patent and Trademark Office granted the chipmaker a patent four years back for mining cryptocurrency effectively using the SHA-256 algorithm. In August last year, Intel revealed a tiny investment in popular bitcoin exchange Coinbase.
With exception of CPUs and GPUs, which are optimized for a variety of tasks, an ASIC is a sort of semiconductor optimized for a single purpose – in this instance, Bitcoin mining. They perform a single function, but they are expected to excel at it. Usually, graphics cards (GPUs) are the semiconductors used in cryptocurrency mining. Indeed, many relate the continuing GPU scarcity to Ethereum mining, since the cards get sold out before they can be purchased by normal users.
Nevertheless, Intel’s specialized mining chip, dubbed Bonanza Mine, does not address that issue at the moment, since the ASIC is designed exclusively toward Bitcoin mining. Raja Koduri, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intel’s Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics (AXG) Group, stated December that the ability to perform blockchain verification at a lower price point and with significantly less power is a fixable issue.
“And it is not a GPU issue; thus, do not attempt to mistake it with a GPU issue. GPUs will perform graphics, gameplay, and a variety of other tasks,” Koduri explained.
“We’re researching on that, and perhaps not too long down the road, we’ll be able to provide some intriguing hardware for that,” he continued.
Nonetheless, Intel will face intense competition from Bitmain and MicroBT, the world’s top makers of Bitcoin mining equipment, respectively.