Intel has decided to withdraw from the chip production market. bitcoin mining. Just a year after the launch of its Blockscale chip, the company announced that it would end this activity to reduce production costs and focus on investments in IDM 2.0.
It didn’t take long to see the American chipmaker throw in the towel. Its flagship product Blockscale chip did not convince bitcoin miners and the high production costs got the better of his adventure in the bitcoin mining sector.
According to Tom’s Hardware, who spoke with a spokesperson for the American giant, Intel has ended production of the Intel Blockscale 1000 Series ASIC chip. But nonetheless, the technology firm always intends to support its Blockscale customers.
Nevertheless, Intel does not intend to completely end its activity in the field of production of puces for bitcoin mining. Indeed, his spokesperson said:
“We continue to monitor market opportunities.”
End of production of Blockscale chips a year after their launch
Many customers of the manufacturer Intel will be sad to learn of the end of the Blockscale chip line. This was unveiled in April 2022 and has delighted many customers, including companies such as Argo Blockchain and Block Inc.
At the time of the launch of this chip, Jose Rios, dirgeneral Blockchain sector and Business Solutions within Intel’s Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group expressed enthusiasm. To this effect, he said:
“The role of the Intel Blockscale ASIC will be major, as it will provide support to bitcoin miners that comes with both sustainability and hash rate growth in the years to come.”
It should be noted, however, that Intel’s activities in bitcoin mining do not date back to last year. Indeed, the american manufacturer had already been interested in this field for several years.
This was thus confirmed in 2015 when CoinDesk reported that the American firm seemed invested in the field. The media claimed at the time that Intel was offering mining chip technology to a start-up specializing in bitcoin technology named after 21 Inc.
Intel’s crypto business saw itself once again in 2018 when it earned a brevet in the United States aiming to develop a less energy-efficient crypto mining method.
Moreover, despite the end of chip production Blockscale, we cannot rule out the possibility that the technology firm will return to bitcoin mining in the years to come.
Intel wants to reduce production costs
One of the main reasons for the discontinuation of production of the Blockscale chip is due to the effort of cost reduction. The firm recently implemented a cost reduction policy and this was accompanied by salary reductions for its main executives.
In addition to reducing costs, Intel also wants to achieve substantial savings. Thus, in February, it announced that its objective in 2023 was to achieve approximately three billion dollars in savings. Similarly, by 2025, the company expects to realize between 8 and 10 billion dollars in annual savings.
Beyond its desire to save money, another reason would have pushed Intel to stop its production of chips of bitcoin mining. This would be the manufacture of the IDM 2.0 chip, the plan of which was announced in 2021. According to Tom’s Hardware, this announcement is one of the reasons behind Intel’s decision.
Whatever its reasons, Intel should not have cash flow problems as it will receive federal state grants. These grants are intended to stimulate the growth of the computer chip industry in the United States.