Jack Dorsey’s Block targets 10-year lifecycle for Bitcoin mining rigs

Bitcoin-focused fintech institution Block Inc. has introduced a caller cryptocurrency mining strategy designed to widen the lifespan of mining rigs and little operational costs — a imaginable boost for miners facing steep superior expenditures to support facilities.

At the halfway of the motorboat is Proto Rig, a modular strategy that replaces the accepted three-to-five-year mining rig beingness rhythm with hardware built to past a decennary oregon more, Block announced Thursday.

Instead of discarding full units, miners tin swap retired idiosyncratic hashboards arsenic exertion improves, perchance cutting upgrade costs by up to 20% per cycle.

Block besides debuted Proto Fleet, an open-source fleet absorption level for large-scale mining operations.

Block’s Proto Rig was unveiled astatine Core Scientific’s Dalton, Georgia, installation connected Thursday. Source: Will Foxley

The announcement builds connected Block’s caller propulsion into the mining hardware space. In April 2024, the institution developed a 3-nanometer Bitcoin mining chip, and aboriginal that twelvemonth signed a proviso statement with Core Scientific.

According to Cointelegraph, Bitcoin mining remains a capital-intensive industry, with professional-grade rigs often costing much than $10,000 — not including the important energy required to tally them. 

At existent prices, mining companies are producing much than $50 cardinal worthy of Bitcoin (BTC) each day, though profitability yet hinges connected variables specified arsenic energy costs, mining trouble and hardware efficiency. 

Related: ARK Invest buys $19M of Jack Dorsey’s Block arsenic banal tumbles to $73

Bitcoin miners are cashing successful connected the AI boom

Several mining firms person sought to boost gross by repurposing their infrastructure for different workloads, including high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence. Others person opted to clasp their mined Bitcoin successful anticipation of further terms increases. 

Before its acquisition, Core Scientific exemplified however a struggling Bitcoin miner could pivot to artificial quality to revive its business. The institution filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy successful 2022 during the carnivore market, past secured a $3.5 cardinal lifeline from CoreWeave little than 2 years later.

In July, CoreWeave acquired Core Scientific successful a $9 cardinal transaction.

Bitcoin hashrate scale — a measurement of BTC miner profitability — has declined implicit time. Source: Hashrae Index

Meanwhile, Hive Digital, a cryptocurrency miner, began pivoting into high-performance computing and AI successful 2022, with HPC revenues appearing connected its income connection the pursuing year. Since then, the institution has accelerated its propulsion into these sectors portion remaining bullish connected its Bitcoin mining operations.

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