Intel, the tech industry's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, has launched a new application specific integrated circuity (ASIC) designed for mining proof-of-work blockchains that use SHA-256 encryption such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Officially named as Blockscale, the new mining chip is reportedly designed for energy-efficient blockchain hashing. Based on Intel's official press release for the product launch, the Blockscale ASIC mining chip has a hash rate of up to 580 gigahash per second, which when converted amounts up to 0.58 terahash per second (TH/s). The energy-efficient chip features a thermal power design that consumes up between 4.8 to 22.7 watts of power based on configuration. The energy efficiency for Blockscale is rated at 26 joules per terahash (J/TH). The Blockscale ASIC mining chip series is designed with combinatory stacking, allowing miners to stack up on the chips and daisy-chain these circuits into one mining rig. Up to 256 integrated circuits can be stacked into one chain, according to Intel. "Intel is committed to advancing blockchain technology in a responsible way, and we’re proud to collaborate with and provide solutions to companies that are creating a more sustainable cryptocurrency ecosystem globally. The Intel Blockscale ASIC is going to play a major role in helping bitcoin mining companies achieve both sustainability and hash rate scaling objectives in the years ahead," shares Jose Rios, general manager of Blockchain and Business Solutions in the Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group at Intel. By comparison, the main competitor to this chip is Bitmain's recently released Antminer S19 Pro, which has 110 TH/s in hash rate, with an energy efficiency rating of 30 J/TH. If Intel's integrated circuit chaining limit of 256 of the Blockscale chip stacks up, it can produce a theoretically faster hash rate of 148.5 TH/s, with power consumption going between 1,228 to 5,811 watts. According to Intel, Blockscale mining chips are scheduled for shipment and release to the global market by Q3 2022. Intel has partnered with Argo Blockchain, Block, Hive Blockchain Technologies, and GRIID Infrastructure to be among the first crypto mining firms to receive the new chips and develop firmware based on the integrated circuits' capabilities. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.