According to the RAE in its third definition of Bonanza is “In overseas mines, abundance of ore.” The name given by Intel to its ASIC intended for Bitcoin mining seems rather well chosen. Bonanza is a term deeply rooted in mining tradition, and now also in crypto-mining thanks to Intel with its new “Bonanza Mine”.
ASICs are devices developed and focused on a specific and unique task. In the world of cryptocurrencies, they are very common and exist to do the job of mining specific cryptocurrencies. Its material is very specific and optimized for generate a higher hashrate to which a processor or a GPU can give and for the same consumption.
Intel ‘Bonanza Mine’, an efficient mining?
While in countries like Kosovo, cryptocurrency mining is banned due to the lack of electricity in the country, Intel introduced its new energy-efficient, ultra-low-voltage ASIC “Bonanza Mine”.
Last month, Intel Vice President and General Manager of Graphics Raja Koduri – ex-AMD – told the official Intel Gaming publication.
“… I believe that blockchain is a transaction that runs much more efficiently which burns material cycles. It’s something we’re working on…”
Undoubtedly, Intel does not want to let the moment pass and is taking advantage of a very good opportunity with the lack of graphics stock and its disproportionate price increase. It’s because of it Intel has prepared its own ASIC “Bonanza Mine” to gain a foothold in the crypto-currency sector, so much so that one of its first clients will be GRIID, an American startup dedicated to Bitcoin cryptomining that it has reached an agreement with the blue giant to supply it with “Bonanza Mine” ASICs and thus expand its mining equipment. The US startup is a recognized miner in the industry, stating on its own website that it is seeking carbon-free, low-cost energy to build, manage and operate its growing portfolio of Bitcoin mining facilities.
Miner yes, but not with my charts
Intel has been talking about graphics for many years and even then Raja Koduri himself said that with his ARC graphics cards they want these to reach the general public, gamers and not miners or end up in a warehouse on a farm.
Obviously and after seeing Intel’s recent Bonanza Mine presentation it seems a clear option of what they want to offer the latter to meet their needs without having to go through GPUs for gamers and disrupt the market.
Additionally, with the supposedly low power and voltage requirement that Intel ASICs will require, we want to think of it as their green gesture in the face of the devastating environmental impact caused by uncontrolled cryptocurrency mining.
