HIVE Blockchain Technologies has agreed with Intel to purchase BTC mining equipment based on an ASIC chip developed by the corporation.
A batch of miners will be made to order by HIVE.
Deliveries are expected to begin in the second half of 2022 and be completed within 12 months. The company did not disclose the batch volume but specified that after the full deployment of new installations, its bitcoin hashrate is going to increase by 95% from the current 1.9 EH/s.
According to HIVE President Aidin Kilich, Intel's "high-performance blockchain accelerator" is foreseen to provide lower energy consumption than existing ASIC miners on the market.
Trending: Salvadorans are against buying bitcoins at the expense of the budget
Intel introduced the Bonanza Mine chip and a prototype miner based on it during the ISSCC international conference in February. Product performance indicators were significantly inferior to market leaders.
Among the first customers of the equipment in the corporation named competitors HIVE, Argo Blockchain, and GRIID Infrastructure, as well as Block (formerly Square) Jack Dorsey.
In documents filed by Argo with the SEC, journalists found information about the future supply of miners with much higher technical characteristics than previously announced by Intel. With a high degree of probability, we are talking about the new generation of Bonanza Mine, which is 15% more energy efficient than the Bitmain flagship, the media identified.
Trending: CoinShares: Bitcoin funds raised $8.8 million in a week
Simultaneously with the agreement with the chipmaker, HIVE also signed a letter of intent with blockchain hosting provider Compute North to host 100 MW mining equipment. It is planned to deploy installations in one of the company's new data centers in Texas, which uses renewable energy.
If the agreements are implemented, HIVE will begin mining operations in the United States for the first time, the company emphasized.