Intel later this year will beginselling a chip customized to mine bitcoinand other cryptocurrencies, the company said Friday.
Initial customers includepayment processor Block (formerly Square)and two mining companies,Argo BlockchainandGriid Infrastructure.
The first miner to solve a complex computing problem is rewarded with newly minted cryptocurrency.
One of Intel’s top rivals, graphics-chip maker Nvidia, has profited handsomely from cryptocurrency mining.
And that doesn’t even include mining other cryptocurrencies like ether and dogecoin.
Intel hopes its chip will help with the energy consumption problem.
But don’t expect a radical improvement in the environmental impact of mining.
