Intel Corp has launched a chip, energy-efficient semiconductors, especially for bitcoin mining and minting NFTs to cash. It is regarded as a new “blockchain accelerator”. Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc and GRID Infrastructure are among its first customers.
The American technology company is focusing on energy efficiency because of the growing concerns about crypto mining’s environmental impact. Raja Koduri, a general manager of Intel’s accelerated computing systems and graphics group, said the company is mindful that some blockchains need an enormous amount of computing power. But this translates to an immense amount of energy.
As such, Intel’s consumers are looking for scalable and sustainable solutions. Intel is focusing its efforts on realizing the full potential of blockchain by developing energy-efficient computing technologies at scale. Koduri said the company will engage and promote an open and secure blockchain ecosystem. It will help advance this technology in a responsible and sustainable way.
The chip’s architecture is implemented on a tiny piece of silicon. It has minimal impact on the supply of current products. Intel Labs has committed decades of research into reliable cryptography, ultra-low voltage circuits, and hashing techniques. Koduri said the company expects their circuit innovations to deliver a blockchain accelerator that has over 1000x better performance per watt. This is way better than mainstream GPUs for SHA-256 based mining.
Intel has formed a new Custom Compute Group with the company’s Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics business unit. This team will build custom silicon platforms optimized for customers’ workloads. It includes blockchain and other custom accelerated supercomputing opportunities. The company is working towards utilizing technologies from its zetta-scale computing initiative to deliver energy-efficient solutions.
