Like a computer chip giant, Intel processors still account for a significant share of Chromebook netbooks/game PCs, to workstations/servers. However, in the hot cryptocurrency mining industry in recent years, Intel CPUs have been robbed of the limelight by Bitcoin ASIC mining machines and Nvidia/AMD GPUs. In terms of hash efficiency alone, versatility has become a shortcoming of x86 chips.
In addition, in the face of multiple pressures from Apple’s self-developed Apple Silicon (arm-based institution) and long-term competitor AMD, Intel clearly hopes to achieve long-term success.
The good news is that with Pat Gelsinger taking over as CEO, Intel is finally starting to take a break from the interest in ASIC chips for cryptocurrency mining.
Earlier, we had already covered Intel’s “Bonanza Mine” mining machine business. After the launch of the BMZ1 prototype for testing waters last year, the upcoming commercial BMZ2 attracted our attention.
In a Blog Post in February, Raja Koduri, Senior Vice President of Intel and General Manager of Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics, stated that the company intends to contribute to the development of blockchain technology with energy efficiency.
While the Intel x86 PC chip isn’t known for being particularly energy-efficient, the BMZ2 platform, scheduled for launch in the second half of 2022, is expected to shine in the cryptocurrency mining market.
According to Koduri, in SHA-256-based mining applications, the performance per watt of the new ultra-low-voltage BMZ2 chip is thousands of times higher than that of mainstream GPU solutions such as Nvidia’s RTX 30 series graphics cards.
Previously, the most criticized thing in the cryptocurrency mining industry was the unprovoked consumption of a lot of energy.
Business Insider notes that the industry consumes 91 terawatt-hours of electricity per month, which is comparable to Finland’s country with a population of 5.5 million. In addition to growing emissions, high energy consumption will eventually affect the profitability of cryptocurrency mining.
However, with 26 joules / TeraHash power consumption, and 135 TH/s of computing power, Intel BMZ2 is expected to provide bitmain, MicroBT, Bitfury, Canaan, and other mining machine manufacturers in the near future, with a much more powerful alternative to more mature ASIC chips.
