Hive Blockchain Deploys Intel-Powered ASIC Miners

Hive Blockchain Technologies (Nasdaq: HIVE) has announced the commercial deployment of their first-ever ASIC mining machines, the HIVE BuzzMiner. Powered by Intel Blockscale ASIC, Hive is the first public crypto mining company to deploy an ASIC miner using vertical integration. 

The deployment has a significant opportunity to disrupt the crypto mining industry by reducing their need to rely on mining hardware companies like Bitmain and MicroBT. Instead, Hive has leveraged a partnership with Intel to create their own lineup of mining rigs that are capable of meeting their production needs. 

Technical specifications of the HIVE BuzzMiner

According to Aydin Kilic, President & COO of HIVE, the new miners are capable of producing 110 TH/s to 130 TH/s which Kilic says will “optimize the profitability of our fleet, by varying the power consumption and machine efficiency.” 

With 5,800 ASIC miners now built, Kilic also states that the total output capable by the machines is 638 PH/s to 754 PH/s which will create a significant advantage on the companies ability to mine bitcoin following the next halving in 2024. 

Intel’s contribution cannot be overstated either as the latest company to join the cryptocurrency industry. Intel is one of the largest CPU manufacturers in the world and their ability to boost the bitcoin network could lead to significant changes over time. 

Impact on the bitcoin mining industry

Hive states that they have already deployed 1,500 miners across Sweden and Canada using Intel’s hardware, reaching target metrics across the board with their performance. However, this is only a fraction of the 5,800 that were originally planned for production, but was quickly reduced by the 2022 bear market. 

Ethereum’s merge to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism also plays a role in the mining industry as many miners had to be switched to new mining networks following the blockchain’s shift away from proof-of-mining. 

Hive isn’t worried by this, though. Their press release states that “Proof-of-Work [is] the most secure and robust consensus mechanism for digital assets, of which Bitcoin is the most secure.” While Ethereum is receiving more and more attention every day with the rise of web3, bitcoin still remains the only truly 100% decentralized blockchain network that exists.

Many of bitcoin's largest supporters often state their preference over Ethereum because they believe that proof-of-stake models are centralized by nature and don’t reflect the true value of decentralized cryptocurrencies. Due to this, bitcoin remains the ideal network for many that are not interested in the greater web3 industry. 

How will this affect the halving?

The bitcoin halving in 2024 is the next major event for the network as it undergoes a reduction to keep the mining of bitcoin scaled. When it happens, the coinbase rewards for blocks will be reduced from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.

This will cause mining rigs to lose significant amounts of profitability as it will require the same amount of electricity for half the rewards; but fortunately, with the advancements being made by Hive and Intel, it’s possible that the halving will not disrupt major mining companies.