Intel set to release “ultra-low-voltage energy-efficient Bitcoin mining ASIC”
Leading tech giant Intel, one of the largest computer processor manufacturers, is set to release their new specialised “ultra-low-voltage energy-efficient Bitcoin mining ASIC” known as the “Bonanza Mine”.
Although Intel are yet to state anything publicly, Tom’s Hardware reporters noticed that they are seeking to present the “Bonanza Mine” processor at the upcoming IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in February 2022. Intel is scheduled to present in the Highlighted Chip Releases category, with the purpose of showing off this new energy-efficient miner off the back of it’s submitted patent in November 2018, in which they detailed “high-performance Bitcoin Mining” processing chips.
Additionally, in December 2021, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics (AXG) group, Raja Koduri, said “GPUs will do graphics, gaming, and all those wonderful things… But being able to do much more efficient blockchain validation at a much lower cost, much lower power, is a pretty solvable problem. And you know, we are working on that, and at some point in time, hopefully not too far into the future, we will share some interesting hardware for that” to only add fuel to the speculation that Intel are looking to produce a dedicated, energy-efficient chip for cryptocurrency mining.
The release of the “Bonanza Mine” will bring Intel into direct competition with the likes of Bitmain and MicroBT in the market that centers around ASIC Bitcoin miners. Cryptocurrency mining has become a hot topic for those gamers and individuals that care for the environment and the impact cryptocurrency, and specifically Bitcoin mining is having on it. Bitcoin Mining is said to be responsible for approximately 137 terawatt hours of energy consumption per year according to latest data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. Could we see Intel produce ASICs that improve afforded efficiency and performance advantages over other ASICs, CPUs, and CPUs, all the whilst decreasing environmental impact? We will soon find out. Some reports are suggesting that the Bonanza Mine system could potentially reduce overall power consumption by approximately 15%, however the actual figures are not yet known.
It is not yet clear whether Intel will only detail a project they’ve been working on or actually launch a market-ready miner, but with Raja Koduri’s encouraging words, it is expected that Intel will release this new energy-efficient hardware for mining Bitcoin.
