• Bitmain has announced the Launch of its 7nm (nanometer) ASIC mining chip
• The new chip will be used for coins that use the SHA256 algorithm – primarily Bitcoin
• The new chip significantly reduces the energy requirement for mining

The next generation 7nm (nanometer) ASIC mining chip has been announced by Bitmain this Monday, 2019. The new chip reportedly features improvements in the areas of performance, chip area and energy efficiency for coins that use the SHA256 algorithm for their proof of work such as Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.

Cutting electricity costs by 30%

One of the remarkable aspects of this new chip is that it is quite energy efficient and has an energy consumption to computing ratio as low as 30J/TH which is a 28.6 percent improvement in power efficiency compared to the previous BM1391 chip. This is a huge selling point considering the fact that high electricity costs are one of the most inconvenient parts of crypto mining. The Bitmain team explained in their press release that the new chip was designed with this end goal in mind:

“To achieve this, Bitmain’s engineering team has thoroughly customised the chip design to optimise its architecture, circuit and economics. The chip is made using TSMC’s 7nm FinFET process.”

Now that it is released, the chips will see application in new Antminer models S17 and T17 that will come out later this year.

“The BM1397, part of Bitmain’s growing chip portfolio, is designed to bring a better mining experience and aims to set a new benchmark in ASIC chip technology,” the release stated.

Surviving in the competitive world of mining

When the Bitcoin price crashed last year, one aspect of the crypto community that was hit the hardest was the mining firms. This is because the price of mining has stayed relatively consistent but the return on the coins had now fallen. As a result, many coins became unprofitable to mine and several mining giants such as GigaWatt filed for bankruptcy and closed down.

Bitmain, while still operational, didn’t come out of the bear market unscathed. They were forced to close down a center in Israel and also suspended activities in Texas. It then comes as no surprise that the new chip focuses on making mining as cost-effective as possible. Only time will tell how Bitmain will perform for the remainder of the Bear market.