Intel is developing a custom chip that can mine bitcoin and other cryptocurrency.
Intel
Intel will launch this year Selling a customized chip to mine BitcoinThe company also mentioned other cryptocurrencies on Friday. Initial customers include Payment processor Block (formerly Square).Two mining companies. Argo BlockchainAnd Griid Infrastructure.
It’s a major bet for the company on a technology that could change finance and, with a cryptocurrency-related idea called NFTs, alter how we own digital assets. Although cryptocurrencies and NFTs have been plagued with theft and fraud, Intel hopes to address their enormous energy consumption.
Mining cryptocurrencies is a computationally demanding process that records transactions onto a shared database called the Blockchain. The first miner who solves a complex computing problem is awarded a newlyminted cryptocurrency. This means that there is a strong incentive for the most powerful machines and the most efficient, as electrical power costs are high.
Nvidia, a graphics-chip manufacturer, has made a handsome profit from cryptocurrency mining. It is difficult for gamers to find graphics cards because of the miners’ demand for its graphics processing units. But there are major suppliers of cryptocurrency mining hardware like Goldshell, MicrofinanceAnd BitmainYou can use processors called application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), that are tailored for mining.
Cryptocurrency mining requires a lot of powerAccording to an estimate by, the current rate is 125 terawatthours per year. Cambridge University’s Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. This is a comparison to the 2020 electricity consumption in Norway, which has 5.5 million inhabitants, according the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
That doesn’t include mining other cryptocurrencies such as ether and dogecoin.
Intel hopes that its chip will reduce energy consumption.
“We are conscious that some blockchains need an enormous amount computing power, and unfortunately, this translates into an immense amount of electricity,” Raja Koduri, senior vice president responsible for Intel’s Accelerated Computing System and Graphics group, said in a blog. “Our customers want scalable and sustainable solutions. This is why we are focusing on maximizing the potential of blockchain by implementing the most energy-efficient computing technology at scale.”
A efficiency boost might help miners reduce costs and power consumption, which could worsen the global climate crisis and deprive others of affordable power. However, don’t expect a dramatic improvement in the environmental impact from mining.
Because cryptocurrency’s “proof of work” approach means that the difficulty of solving the computing problem miners must solve rises as more computing power is available to solve it. This is in stark contrast with conventional computing, which uses power and efficiency to increase computing power to deliver better video games, solve new challenges like artificial Intelligence, and expand into new markets like smartwatches.
ASICs, by their very nature, are made for a specific purpose. This means that ASICs will become obsolete once they’re replaced by newer models. According to Digiconomist’s estimates, bitcoin mining produces 31,000 tons of electronic garbage per year. Bitcoin E-waste Monitoring.
