Share this article

Intel Discontinues Bitcoin Mining Chip Series

The production of the so-called Blockscale chips was announced about a year ago.

Updated Apr 19, 2023, 7:23 p.m. Published Apr 18, 2023, 4:24 p.m.
jwp-player-placeholder

Chipmaking heavyweight Intel (INTC) is ending production of its bitcoin mining chip series, the company said in a statement to CoinDesk on Tuesday.

"As we prioritize our investments in IDM 2.0, we have end-of-lifed the Intel Blockscale 1000 Series ASIC [application specific integrated circuit] while we continue to support our Blockscale customers," an Intel spokesperson said.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the The Protocol Newsletter today. See all newsletters

The news was first reported by Tom's Hardware.

No orders will be taken after Oct. 20 and the last product will be shipped no later than April 20, 2024, according to a document on Intel's website.

The company announced its foray into bitcoin mining about a year ago, with its first customers for the chips, dubbed Blockscale, being Argo Blockchain (ARBK), Block (SQ), Griid Infrastructure and Hive Blockchain (HIVE).

Since then only Hive has confirmed the installation of mining rigs powered by Intel chips. None of the companies responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

Argo's partner, ePIC Blockchain, is promoting its own bitcoin mining machines using the Intel semiconductors.

Intel's chips could have broken an effective duopoly in the market dominated by Bitmain and MicroBT. The company continues to "monitor market opportunities," the spokesperson said, when asked whether Intel might come up with a new project.

CORRECTION (April 19, 2023 15:10 UTC): Fixes the spelling of the Intel chip's name.


More For You

KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market

16:9 Image

KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

More For You

Ethereum Foundation makes post quantum security a top priority as new team forms

Ethereum Logo

EF researcher Justin Drake says a new post-quantum team will drive wallet safety upgrades, research prizes and test networks as quantum timelines shorten.

What to know:

  • The Ethereum Foundation has elevated post-quantum security to a top strategic priority, forming a dedicated Post Quantum team led by Thomas Coratger with support from leanVM cryptographer Emile.
  • Researcher Justin Drake said Ethereum is shifting from background research to active engineering, including biweekly developer sessions on post-quantum transactions and multi-client post-quantum consensus test networks.
  • The foundation is backing new cryptography with funding and outreach, launching two $1 million prizes, planning post-quantum community events and education, and stressing that blockchains must prepare early for quantum threats despite their long-term nature.