Home Samsung Electronics to Produce ASICs for a Russian Bitcoin Mining Hardware Company

Samsung Electronics to Produce ASICs for a Russian Bitcoin Mining Hardware Company

The rise in the demand for bitcoins and the increase in bitcoin mining has made South Korean semiconductor industries popular. Samsung Electronics and TSMC of Taiwan are definitely keying in into this boom.
Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Samsung signed a contract with Baikal, a Russian Bitcoin mining hardware company, regarding foundry business ASIC (Application- Specific Integrated Circuit) for mining. Samsung Electronics has currently finished sample production while mass-production of these semiconductors ASIC chips is expected to begin on full-scale starting from January of 2018 through the 14nm process. Baikal is planning to release new Bitcoin miners through chips that are produced from Samsung Electronics’ plants.
Samsung-Electronics-Produce-ASICs-Russian-Bitcoin-Mining-Hardware-Company-1
It is believed that Samsung Electronics opened its foundry business to an unfamiliar Russian company to secure future investments. Samsung who usually sticks with the safer and established partners like Qualcomm and Apple is securing its future in cryptocurrency by teaming up with a lesser-known company.
Semiconductors and miners are popular nowadays compared to PCs that use regular GPUs (Graphics Processing Unit) and FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Array). Bitcoin is issued through mining process and does not have a central control agency. Therefore by cracking a code through computers, one can get certain amounts of Bitcoin. Bitcoin uses SHA-256, which is a standard hash function designated by NSA (National Security Agency). ASIC is used for mining with the hardware focusing on the hash function processing.
Taiwan’s TSMC is already making huge sales in this field as there’s a high demand in hardware markets related to virtual currency. While Canaan Creative and China’s Bitmain are currently leading in mining HW markets. Canaan Creative’s miner called AvalonMiner 821 series are applied with 104 ASICs. While Bitmain’s Bitcoin miner called Antminer S9 is applied with 189 ASICs. Mining chips for Canaan Creative and Bitmain are produced by Taiwan’s TSMC through the 16nm process.
This is a guest post by Asseh Rebecca.

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Get the biggest tech headlines of the day delivered to your inbox

    By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe anytime.

    Tech News

    Explore the latest in tech with our Tech News. We cut through the noise for concise, relevant updates, keeping you informed about the rapidly evolving tech landscape with curated content that separates signal from noise.

    In-Depth Tech Stories

    Explore tech impact in In-Depth Stories. Narrative data journalism offers comprehensive analyses, revealing stories behind data. Understand industry trends for a deeper perspective on tech's intricate relationships with society.

    Expert Reviews

    Empower decisions with Expert Reviews, merging industry expertise and insightful analysis. Delve into tech intricacies, get the best deals, and stay ahead with our trustworthy guide to navigating the ever-changing tech market.