Jack Dorsey’s Block Looks to Disrupt Bitcoin Mining

Block plans to create custom silicon for bitcoin mining hardware to bring decentralization to the industry

article-image

Artie Medvedev/Poetra.RH/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Jack Dorsey’s Block is on a mission to shake things up in the bitcoin mining world by creating its own custom silicon for mining hardware.

With only a few companies dominating the supply of bitcoin mining ASICs, Block is looking to level the playing field and bring some much-needed decentralization to the industry.

Plus, the company revealed it scored a deal with Intel for a stash of bitcoin mining ASICs, giving it a major boost to accelerate its mining system development and focus on creating the next-gen three nanometer ASICs, which are only accessible to a few companies worldwide. 

The chip giant only recently announced that it would discontinue its bitcoin mining chip, and will stop taking orders on October 20. The exact number of ASICs Block acquired from Intel was undisclosed. 

Block said it has been in the ASIC design game for a long while, honing its skills by making ASICs for its Square payments processing solutions. Since the start of the project, Block has hired a team of designers that have cranked out some initial designs that are giving the best ASICs on the market a run for their money.

Bitcoin mining ASICs currently on the market are typically made using five-nanometer technology. In the past year, Block finished designing a top-of-the-line bitcoin mining ASIC using this semiconductor process.

A nanometer — one billionth of a meter — is a common measurement describing the size of microscopic features on a computer chip. Five- and three-nanometer technology are among the most advanced manufacturing processes in the semiconductor industry. Shrinking the size results in more transistors and a more powerful and energy-efficient chip.

Block has just greenlit the manufacturing of a prototype for its completed five-nanometer design. This milestone will give the company a chance to try out different design variations, and fine-tune testing on actual silicon. 

Next, the company awaits the prototypes’ arrival this fall, which it expects “will be a valuable input into our three-nanometer ASIC development work.”

Block plans to make its bitcoin mining technology open-source, with a view to drive innovation and expand the bitcoin mining hardware ecosystem to new heights.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

tg trading bot report graphic.png

Research

Telegram trading bots have found their primary niche in highly speculative token launches and retail-dominated memecoin markets, with many features specifically tailored to token sniping and copy-trading strategies.

article-image

With a friendlier regulatory outlook and the airdrop flow being stemmed, some are looking to how new native tokens can become valuable assets

article-image

The recent action paints an uncertain picture for future monetary policy moves

article-image

Is the finance world becoming “more liquid”? Experts give their takes as TradFi players consider new moves

article-image

Ethereum core developers debated a major overhaul of the EVM, weighing complexity and benefits

article-image

Top Committee Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren in her opening statement accused Atkins of “helping billionaire CEOs like Sam Bankman-Fried”