Bitmain Technologies has announced a new iteration of its 7-nanometer Bitcoin mining chip. The cryptocurrency mining hardware behemoth says the new and improved 7-nm chip offers greater energy efficiency for mining operations.

More Energy Efficient Bitcoin Mining

The company announced the news in a blog post published on Monday (February 18, 2019), on its official blog. According to the statement, the new BM1397 chip offers faster and cheaper cryptocurrency mining.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Bitmain’s chip supplying contractor, manufactured the chip using the former’s 7nm FinFET process. Bitmain says its new class of 7-nm chips is designed for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash that use the SHA256 Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining algorithm.

According to the company, the new mining processor provides significant improvements in power efficiency from the earlier 7-nm chips released in November 2018. An excerpt of the announcement reads:

The new BM1397 chip requires lower power and can offer an energy consumption to computing ratio as low as 30J/TH. This is a 28.6 percent improvement in power efficiency in comparison with Bitmain’s previous 7nm chip, the BM1391.

The post also revealed that new upgraded 7-nm chips would come as part of the proposed S17 and T17 Antminer models. Bitmain is yet to disclose any timetable for when these new miners will be ready for release.

Difficult 2018 for Bitmain

Bitmain will be hoping that the launch of a new mining processor will spark efforts to improve the company’s fortunes following a tumultuous 2018. A wrong bet on Bitcoin Cash saw the company reportedly incur losses more than $740 million in Q3 2018 alone.

In Q4 2018, the mining behemoth also significantly reduced its staff strength laying off entire departments. First, the company fired its Israeli-based R&D department before laying off its Bitcoin Cash development team.

Co-founders Jihan Wu and Ketuan Zhan also faced the ax, as reports emerged that the company was shopping for a new CEO.

Bitmain’s IPO plans was also another victim of the company’s difficult 2018. At the start of the year, Bitcoinist reported that Bitmain’s proposed mega mining facility in Texas was being put on hold.

Do you expect Bitmain will be able to turn the tide around in their finances in 2019? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock, bitmain

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