Cointelegraph
English
News
Indices
In Depth
Learn
Crypto Bonus
Podcasts
Anti-Scam
About

ASIC News

An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is a chip that has been developed to be a part of a setup known as an ASIC cryptocurrency mining rig. An ASIC miner combines computer hardware and software to mine digital currencies. ASIC miners specialize in one hashing algorithm that determines which cryptocurrencies are mined. Bitcoin is mined using the SHA-256 algorithm, while Ethereum is mined using ETHASH. ASIC miners typically come in the form of a dedicated piece of hardware that needs to be connected to a computer. The hardware does all of the mining work, while the computer is mostly used to provide power and an internet connection.

ASIC miners are ideal for large-scale mining operations since they are more efficient than general-purpose computers or homemade GPU-powered rigs when it comes to mining. ASIC miners can also be used to mine multiple cryptocurrencies, which can further increase their efficiency. Their performance is measured in a hash rate, the number of hashes per second that they can perform, and power consumption. The higher the hash rate of an ASIC miner, the more times it can try to crack the hash in a given period of time. The efficiency of ASIC chips used for mining has increased with every new model that comes out and is measured in terahashes (TH). A more common term to evaluate the performance is terahashes per second (TH/s), which measures the number of cryptographic hashes that can be performed in a second.

The disadvantages of ASIC miners are that they use a lot of electricity and produce heat. They work best in specific conditions, such as within a warehouse with industrial cooling, and may not be suitable for home miners in large quantities. However, most miners power their ASICs through renewable energy, alleviating environmental concerns around mining. Furthermore, miners can quickly switch off their equipment to minimize strain on the local power grid.