Block Closes First Order for Its New 3nm Bitcoin Mining Chips With Core Scientific

The companies have not disclosed the deal's financials, but the purchase is expected to add nearly 15 exahashes per second (EH/s) of hashrate to Core's mining

Financial technology conglomerate Block has secured the first order for its new mining chips. As announced by the company on July 10, Block will be supplying its new 3 nanometer (3nm) mining application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) to Bitcoin miner Core Scientific.

The companies have not disclosed the financials of the deal, but the purchase is expected to add nearly 15 exahashes per second (EH/s) of hashrate to Core’s mining capacity — currently at 24.6 EH/s.

Core Scientific and Block have been collaborating on the new chips for the past few months, with the miner firm providing inputs for a modular platform designed to scale for mining operators.

The collaboration was led by Block’s Proto team, which is behind the company’s mining tools and wallet. “This agreement is a good example of how we envision our mining products pushing forward the advancement and decentralization of the mining industry,” said Thomas Templeton, lead of the Proto team at Block.

Block pivots to mining

Jack Dorsey’s Block is one of the biggest fintech players in the industry. The company is behind popular payment gateways such as Square and Cash App, but since 2021, it has moved to tackle challenges around Bitcoin mining amid a global chip shortage.

In October 2021, the company began developing its own semiconductor chips. By early 2023, it had completed a prototype design for a 5nm Bitcoin mining chip, disclosing plans to make mining technology “open source” by selling standalone ASICs and other hardware components.”

Bitcoin mining involves deploying vast computational resources to solve complex cryptographic problems, validating transactions, and securing the network. Smaller, more efficient 3nm chips can enhance the processing of mining hardware while reducing energy consumption.

Block has described its endeavor on ASIC rigs as costly and complex. It claims that a small number of companies control a large portion of the specialized Bitcoin mining silicon, leading to a concentration of BTC mining technology.