Jack Dorsey’s Block targets 10-year lifecycle for Bitcoin mining rigs

Bitcoin-focused fintech company Block Inc. has introduced a new cryptocurrency mining system designed to extend the lifespan of mining rigs and lower operational costs — a potential boost for miners facing steep capital expenditures to maintain facilities.

At the center of the launch is Proto Rig, a modular system that replaces the traditional three-to-five-year mining rig life cycle with hardware built to last a decade or more, Block announced Thursday.

Instead of discarding entire units, miners can swap out individual hashboards as technology improves, potentially cutting upgrade costs by up to 20% per cycle.

Block also debuted Proto Fleet, an open-source fleet management platform for large-scale mining operations.

Block’s Proto Rig was unveiled at Core Scientific’s Dalton, Georgia, facility on Thursday. Source: Will FoxleyThe announcement builds on Block’s recent push into the mining hardware space. In April 2024, the company developed a 3-nanometer Bitcoin mining chip, and later that year signed a supply agreement with Core Scientific.

According to Cointelegraph, Bitcoin mining remains a capital-intensive industry, with professional-grade rigs often costing more than $10,000 — not including the substantial electricity required to run them

At current prices, mining companies are producing more than $50 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) each day, though profitability ultimately hinges on variables such as electricity costs, mining difficulty and hardware efficiency

Related: ARK Invest buys $19M of Jack Dorsey’s Block as stock tumbles to $73

Bitcoin miners are cashing in on the AI boom

Several mining firms have sought to boost revenue by repurposing their infrastructure for other workloads, including high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence. Others have opted to retain their mined Bitcoin in anticipation of further price increases

Before its acquisition, Core Scientific exemplified how a struggling Bitcoin miner could pivot to artificial intelligence to revive its business. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2022 during the bear market, then secured a $3.5 billion lifeline from CoreWeave less than two years later.

In July, CoreWeave acquired Core Scientific in a $9 billion transaction.

Bitcoin hashrate index — a measure of BTC miner profitability — has declined over time. Source: Hashrae IndexMeanwhile, Hive Digital, a cryptocurrency miner, began pivoting into high-performance computing and AI in 2022, with HPC revenues appearing on its income statement the following year. Since then, the company has accelerated its push into these sectors while remaining bullish on its Bitcoin mining operations.

Magazine: Bitcoin’s invisible tug-of-war between suits and cypherpunks

• #Bitcoin
• #Mining
• #Business
• #Bitcoin Mining
• #Jack Dorsey Add reaction