Japanese IT giant GMO launches first 7nm chip-based Bitcoin mining machine

According to Coindesk, Japanese IT giant GMO Internet will launch the world's first 7nm chip Bitcoin mining equipment this year.

According to an announcement on Wednesday, the company said it will launch its new B2 miner on June 6, with mass production set to begin in late October. The product’s launch comes after a months-long testing period since the company first revealed it was developing the new ASIC processor in September 2017.

Editor's note: As the cryptocurrency market attracts more attention, competition in surrounding industries will also become more intense. The mining market, which was almost monopolized by Bitmain in the past, saw many companies invest resources as early as last year. This year, there will be significant progress. It is foreseeable that Bitmain will not be able to continue to monopolize the entire mining market in the future. It is worth observing whether Bitmain will continue to sit firmly on the leading position in the mining market.

While the device offers a high level of computing power and lower power requirements, the company said the price and performance of the B2 will be revealed in June.

In addition to selling the B2 mining machine to other miners, GMO also plans to use the new product in its existing mining equipment, according to the announcement.

The publicly traded Japanese company had a notable commitment to the bitcoin mining industry last year, backing chip manufacturing in the sector and developing its own mining farms with a $90 million budget.

GMO’s mining farm has been running since late 2017, and according to a report released earlier this month, the company had received returns of 906 bitcoin and 537 bitcoin cash as of last month.

Although the production cost remains uncertain, the total value of these mining rewards is close to $8 million, according to Coinmarketcap prices.

Meanwhile, GMO is not the only major tech company planning to enter the Bitcoin mining industry by introducing more advanced mining chips. It is worth noting that Samsung also started "high-risk production" of 7nm chips in 2018, according to previous reports by the Momentum Zone.

Separately, GMO announced last October that it would sell bitcoin mining equipment in 2018 through an initial coin offering (ICO).

According to foreign blockchain media Coindesk, the company is still considering the idea, but cannot disclose more information due to the early stages of planning.