Intel Corp.’s new Bitcoin mining chip may turn out to be the first major challenger to the Chinese rig manufacturers that have dominated the market for years.
The Santa Clara, California-based chip making giant unveiled its crypto mining initiative earlier this month and the first generation BonanzaMine chip in January. Jack Dorsey’s digital payment company Block Inc., and two mining firms Griid Infrastructure and Argo Blockchain will receive the first batch of the chips later this year.
Chinese manufacturers Bitmain and MicroBT have a lion’s share of the Bitcoin mining hardware market due to the proprietary technology they use to make their high-performing chips. Few competitors appear to have been able to make a chip that can match them until now.
