Intel announced the discontinuation of Bitcoin-mining Blockscale chips
Last year, Intel introduced a blockchain accelerator chip called Bonanza Mine, which was later renamed Blockscale. However, according to Tom’s Hardware, Intel recently announced the discontinuation of the first-generation Blockscale 1000 series chips, with no successor products in sight.
Intel clarified that its current priority is the IDM 2.0 initiative, leading to the termination of the Blockscale 1000 series, but customers utilizing these products can still receive support from Intel.
Described by Intel as an SHA-256 hardware accelerator, Intel Blockscale chips are optimized for energy-efficient hashing, enabling customized cryptocurrency computations. Its processing power reaches up to 580 GH/s, with an energy efficiency of 26 J/TH. Moreover, these chips are equipped with built-in temperature and voltage sensors, allowing operation in extremely demanding environments. Additionally, up to 256 integrated circuits are supported on each chain.
Given the heated cryptocurrency market and the scarcity and soaring prices of graphics cards at the time, Intel’s move made sense. Consequently, they established a new division called the Custom Compute Group under the AXG department to focus on blockchain and cryptocurrency operations. Nonetheless, Blockscale’s progress was relatively slow, only shipping to customers in the third quarter of 2022.
Regarding specific customer support, Intel will continue to fulfill contracts. Until October 2023, customers can order new chips from Intel, with all chip deliveries to be completed by April 2024. However, Intel has not yet indicated any changes for the Custom Compute Group established for the chip.
In recent times, Intel has been cutting expenses by canceling numerous projects and selling off portions of its business. The discontinuation of Blockscale is evidently part of these efforts.