Block Acquires Bitcoin Mining Chips from Intel as Chipmaker Ceases Production

Jack Dorsey’s fintech-payments company, Block (SQ), recently acquired a significant number of Bitcoin (BTC) mining chips from Intel (INTC). This purchase propels Block’s plans to enter the mining hardware market just as the chipmaker discontinues production.

The acquisition will enable Block to introduce mining machines to the market while concentrating on the development of its cutting-edge 3-nanometer chips. Intel had announced in February that the production of its Bitcoin mining application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) would be terminated in April 2024.

Block took advantage of this opportunity by procuring a substantial quantity of ASICs from Intel, as detailed in a blog post published on Friday. The company had originally planned to finalize its 5-nanometer chip design for Bitcoin mining this quarter. However, the recent purchase allows the team to focus exclusively on the 3-nanometer design.

Thomas Templeton, Block’s hardware lead, revealed in an interview with CoinDesk that Block’s first-party products will be launched early next year. The quantity of chips acquired by the company is sufficient to bridge the time gap until Block can design and produce its own 3-nanometer chips.

Block aims to enhance the decentralization of the Bitcoin network. According to Templeton, the primary issue in mining is the lack of diversity in manufacturing and supply chain. Block intends to create more tools for a wider audience to build and use in mining, with ASICs at the core of the process.

Currently, the mining manufacturing industry is dominated by two players: Bitmain and MicroBT. In March, Block announced its plans to develop a mining development kit, enabling other engineers to create products using Block’s chips. The company aims to provide developers with a suite of tools for unlocking innovation in Bitcoin mining hardware and will open-source this technology, encouraging community contributions to its development.