Intel announced on Tuesday that it has halted the production of its Bitcoin mining chip series, only a year after its launch.
The decline in the cryptocurrency market has adversely impacted several chip companies, including Nvidia, whose high-performance graphics chips became popular for cryptocurrency mining.
As per reports, Intel plans to discontinue its Blockscale series and has stated that it will stop taking orders for the series by October 20, 2023, and end shipping by April 20, 2024, according to a document on the company’s website.
According to an Intel spokesperson, the company has decided to discontinue the Intel Blockscale 1000 Series ASIC as it focuses on prioritizing its investments in IDM 2.0. The spokesperson added that while the company will continue to support its existing Blockscale customers, the ASIC series has reached the end of its lifecycle.
IDM 2.0 is Intel’s strategy of outsourcing its chip-making to external customers while it focuses on producing smaller and faster chips internally.
However, despite discontinuing its Bitcoin mining chip series, Intel has stated that it will keep an eye on market opportunities in the cryptocurrency space.
Intel’s initial customers for its Bitcoin mining chips included Argo Blockchain, Block, Hive Blockchain Technologies, and GRIID Infrastructure.
Earlier this year, Intel revealed that it had implemented significant pay cuts for its employees and executives. This move came after the company issued a sales forecast that fell below expectations due to a loss of market share to competitors and a downturn in the PC market.
The pay cuts ranged from 5 percent of base pay for mid-level employees to as much as 25 percent for CEO Pat Gelsinger. However, the company’s hourly workforce did not face any pay cuts. An undisclosed source familiar with the matter leaked this information without authorization to speak publicly.
Intel’s spokesperson Addy Burr stated in a statement that the pay cuts were intended to benefit the company’s investments and overall workforce and were aimed at the executive population. The spokesperson added that these changes were necessary to align Intel’s compensation structure with its strategic priorities and to ensure the company’s long-term success in a highly competitive market.