Block wants to develop ASICs for Bitcoin mining

Jack Dorsey‘s plan to create a Bitcoin mining company seems to be taking shape with Block, which has replaced Square. 

Block looking for a Bitcoin mining expert

After the anticipation of mid-October, a few days ago a job advertisement for cryptographic experts (custom digital design lead) appeared on Block’s LinkedIn profile, expressly requesting knowledge of cryptocurrency mining

The clear aim is to create a new mining concept.

The search is aimed at a role that should develop a next-generation Bitcoin Mining ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) project. The chosen person should be part of a research team aiming at creating a new, more sustainable and cheaper mining concept

An ASIC is, in other words, a microchip designed specifically for a particular use, rather than for general use. In this case, Block aims to build one specifically for Bitcoin mining.

Jack Dorsey

The new mining according to Block 

According to what Dorsey indicated when he first spoke about his mining intentions, it is possible to make some conclusions about the characteristics of the new activity. 

The first aspect that Block will certainly focus on is making mining more sustainable and economical. Excessive energy consumption has always been the real Achilles heel of this activity, as we are seeing in these days in Kazakhstan. 

Jack Dorsey and sustainable mining

Back in April, when publishing a white paper with Ark invest entitled “Bitcoin, it’s the key to a clean and abundant energy future”, Dorsey said that the focus for Bitcoin’s future has to be on solving its problems of excessive energy consumption:

“driving towards clean and efficient energy use is great for Bitcoin’s economics, impact, and scalability”.

To do this, Dorsey points to a more efficient mining system based on a new vertical integration of the process with an ever decreasing reliance on external factors and suppliers. 

“We will incubate the bitcoin mining system project inside Square’s hardware team, starting with architecture, design, and prototyping of more efficient silicon, hashing algorithms, and power architectures”.

Jesse Dorogusker, who heads the company’s hardware department, wrote in a tweet in October. 

For the company, the new mining business should be accessible to everyone and thus become much simpler and more sustainable. 

Dorsey wrote:

“Mining isn’t accessible to everyone. Bitcoin mining should be as easy as plugging a rig into a power source. There isn’t enough incentive today for individuals to overcome the complexity of running a miner for themselves”.


Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2022/01/11/block-asic-mining-di-bitcoin/