A new Bitcoin mining chip developed by Samsung will be more power efficient, according to a recent release. The company says that the optimized 3nm accomplishes 45% reduction in the power. Other details show that the chip confers 23% improved performance while boasting of 16% less surface area than the previous 5nm process.
The 3nm process has a Gate-All-Around (GAA) architecture.
According to a blog post by the company,
“Samsung’s GAA technology implemented for the first time ever, defies the performance limitations of FinFET, improving power efficiency by reducing the supply voltage level, while also enhancing performance by increasing drive current capability.”
Use of Nanosheet Technology
Dr. Siyoung Choi, President and Head of Foundry Business at Samsung Electronics, said that the company has grown to become a leader in next-gen technology manufacturing. He said that they have recorded firsts in areas such as High-K Metal Gate, FinFET and EUV. Choi said that the company will continue to lead in innovative strides to help in the maturity of the industry.
Samsung Newsroom explains that the technology employed in the process technology are wider channeled nanosheets. These are more energy efficient than the GAA technologies utilizing nanowires.
“Utilizing the 3nm GAA technology, Samsung will be able to adjust the channel width of the nanosheet in order to optimize power usage and performance to meet various customer needs” the update continues.
Effects On BTC Price
In their reaction to the news, Baba Vous, an AML & TF specialist who is an ardent supporter of Bitcoin said that the effect of the innovation would be lower production cost for miners and possibly lower Bitcoin price.
Soumen Das, an advocate of green energy, has similar views. According to him, this is a cycle that the mining industry is used to. A comment he made on Twitter said:
“Power Efficient – less energy cost. Powerful hashrate – more mining probability. BTC production costs drop. Next Halving, less rewards more mining difficulty more power. New company with new upgrades making BTC actual cost to be lower”
Effect On Existing Miners
Another commentary from Breadman on the effect that this would have on miners with legacy equipment says that:
“This is how it has always worked. Technology improvements are driving more efficient use of energy, and miners must make new investments to stay competitive. Unlike Proof of Stake where you can just get in at the top and then stay there forever without survival of the fittest.”
