Intel AXG Custom Compute team begins shipments of Blockscale ASIC, but is it too little too late?

Intel’s Raja Koduri announced on Twitter today that Intel’s AXG Custom Compute team has begun shipping the new Blockscale ASIC from Intel. The new Blockchain ASIC by Intel is a massive step for the company, as it is the first foray into the cryptocurrency blockchain universe that NVIDIA and their GPUs have utilized for the last few years. But is this too late for digital giants like Bitcoin and Ethereum?

Intel announces shipments of the Blockscale ASIC have begun to partner with Argo, GRIID, & HIVE blockchains during a slump in the cryptocurrency marketplace

For the last several months, we have seen prices for graphics cards slowly decline to normalcy, and we have also witnessed the influx of cryptocurrency miners unloading their devices. The pattern of change was due to the gradual crash of the whole crypto marketplace and the decline of popular digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Raja Koduri took to Twitter to announce that partners Argo, GRIID, and HIVE blockchains will begin to receive shipments of the company’s Blockscale ASIC, a more open design to assist in cryptocurrency mining in the marketplace.

Intel AXG Custom Compute team is now shipping the Blockscale ASIC! First product will always be unforgettable, congratulations team
Excited to see how @ArgoBlockchain @griid and @HiveBlockchain improvise around Blockscale and our open design. pic.twitter.com/0rxtNTLMfw

— Raja Koduri (Bali Makaradhwaja) (@RajaXg) June 29, 2022

As reported in April 2022, Intel understands that compute requirement for blockchains operating proof-of-work consensus tools was rising due to the rapid resiliency and capability to scale without surrendering decentralization. This increasing pool of computing power demands an immense quantity of energy, necessitating new technologies that can deliver the required capacity in a more energy-efficient way while also being stable enough to mitigate long-term e-waste circumstances.

The Intel Blockscale ASIC allowed proof-of-work algorithms consistent with ASIC-based systems and SHA-256 hashing and provided the power efficiency and computing capacity required to reach scalability and sustainability. Intel will be capable of offering it in magnitude without compromising the stockpile of new CPUs or GPUs.

Intel is committed to advancing blockchain technology in a responsible way, and we’re proud to collaborate with and provide solutions to companies that are creating a more sustainable cryptocurrency ecosystem globally. The Intel Blockscale ASIC is going to play a major role in helping bitcoin mining companies achieve both sustainability and hash rate scaling objectives in the years ahead.

— Jose Rios, general manager of Blockchain and Business Solutions in the Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group, Intel

However, during the last few months, there has been panic among miners trying to get back what they can of their ROI or return on investment. Users are selling their NVIDIA RTX 30 series GPUS in marketplaces like eBay, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, and even Amazon as third-party sellers offering used GPUs that have probably lost a large chunk of usability from being overprocessed during mining.

Earlier this month, Argo blockchain shares were dropping, confusing uneducated miners. The decline in mining capacity was due to the increasing temperatures in Texas, where Argo’s facility is located. In turn, energy prices began to rise, forcing the company to halt mining operations for the time being.

The post Intel AXG Custom Compute team begins shipments of Blockscale ASIC, but is it too little too late? by Jason R. Wilson appeared first on Wccftech.