Intel to stop manufacturing Bitcoin mining chips, here’s why

• United States-based chip manufacturing giant Intel has decided to terminate its line of Bitcoin mining processors as part of cost-cutting measures.
• It has only been a year since Intel began making mining chips, yet the company is suddenly exiting the market.

United States-based technology company Intel Corporation has purportedly revealed plans to terminate its line of Blockscale Bitcoin mining processors as part of cost-cutting measures.

As per a recent Reuters report, the semiconductor chip manufacturing company will stop accepting orders for its Blockscale 1000 Series ASICs by 20 October and will stop shipping in April 2024.

Intel exits the mining chip market within a year

Intel introduced the Blockscale mining chips in April 2022, claiming that the ASIC hardware will have a hash rate of up to 580 gigahash per second, with each chip capable of being integrated and merged into a single mining unit.

Mining groups such as Argo Blockchain, Block, Hive Blockchain Technologies, and GRIID Infrastructure were among the first companies to adopt Intel technology into their operations.

Intel’s initial entry into the crypto mining chips business was rather ill-timed as its chips became available just as Bitcoin valuations crashed at the end of the previous crypto craze.

Intel’s apparent exit from the market comes as Bitcoin is on the rise again, it recently broke $30,000 for the first time in nearly a year.

It has only been a year since Intel began making mining chips, yet the company is suddenly exiting the market. The company reportedly stated that the decision was part of a strategy to prioritize the fabrication of certain chips for outside clients, hence lowering overall costs.

According to Intel’s statement, the company’s tighter focus on its IDM 2.0 operations is the reason behind the decision to end the Blockscale ASICs. This has frequently been cited as the reason why the company has exited several businesses amid companywide belt-tightening.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger reportedly took a 25% pay cut in February, with the company predicting annual cost savings of up to $10 billion as a result of cost-cutting initiatives and efficiency gains by 2026.

Though it has decided to stop manufacturing mining chips, Intel reportedly stated that it will continue to evaluate “market opportunities” in the crypto field.