HIVE Blockchain to expand mining operations with new Intel ASIC chips

Publicly traded crypto mining company HIVE Blockchain Technologyhas signed a deal to buy ASIC chips from semiconductor manufacturer Intel thatwill be used in their new custom mining devices.

HIVE has arranged for the new devices to be made by athird-party custom design manufacturer that will integrate the Intel chips intonew air-cooled Bitcoin (BTC) mining devices.

HIVE expects that the new devices will nearly double its aggregateBitcoin mining hash rate from 1.9 to 3.8 Exahashes per second (Eh/s). They willbegin arriving ready for use starting in the second half of 2022.

Intel stated in its patent for the chips, called “Bonanza Mine,”that the chips would also reduce the power consumption of miningoperations by 15%. The reduction in power usage may allow HIVE to employ moredevices, helping it increase its hash rate contribution even more.

 Aydin Kilic President andCOO of HIVE suggested that the new devices would be important in the futuregrowth of the company and its hash rate contributions to the network. He saidthat the company is committed to “implementing these next-generation blockchainaccelerators in (HIVE’s) green energy infrastructure.” Executive Chairman ofHIVE, Frank Holmes, added:

“Intel’s commitment to challenging the statusquo and commitment to energy-efficient products aligns very well with our ESGand clean energy commitment.”

HIVE currently has mining operations in Canada,Iceland, and Sweden where it mines BTC, Ethereum (ETH), and Ethereum Classic (ETC). The Texas operation will be its first in theU.S.

Application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) chips arecustomized for a particular use. In the case of Bitcoin mining, they aredesigned to perform complex mathematicalequations in order to createnew blocks on the chain.