Jack Dorsey’s Block Aims for 10-Year Lifespan in Bitcoin Mining Rigs
Modular Proto Rig and Proto Fleet promise lower upgrade costs and longer hardware life, potentially reshaping the mining industry amid AI integration
Bitcoin-focused fintech firm Block Inc. has unveiled its new Proto Rig, a modular mining system designed to extend rig lifespans to a decade or more while cutting operational expenses. The innovation allows miners to replace individual hashboards instead of entire rigs, potentially reducing upgrade costs by up to 20% per cycle.
Alongside Proto Rig, Block introduced Proto Fleet, an open-source management platform for large-scale operations. This move follows the company’s April 2024 development of a 3-nanometer Bitcoin mining chip and its subsequent supply deal with Core Scientific.
With professional-grade rigs often costing over $10,000 and consuming vast amounts of electricity, mining remains a capital-intensive sector. At current market prices, miners collectively produce more than $50 million in Bitcoin daily, though profitability depends on factors like energy costs, difficulty levels, and hardware efficiency.
Industry reaction to Block’s announcement has been largely positive. Komodo Platform CTO Kadan Stadelmann praised the open-source approach, noting it aligns with Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos and helps break dependence on monopoly hardware suppliers. He highlighted the environmental and economic benefits of longer-lasting, higher-density mining rigs.
AI boom opens new revenue paths for miners
Many mining firms are diversifying by repurposing infrastructure for high-performance computing and artificial intelligence workloads, while others choose to hold mined Bitcoin for potential price appreciation.
Core Scientific, once bankrupt, pivoted toward AI partnerships and secured a $3.5 billion deal with CoreWeave before being acquired by the same company for $9 billion in July. Similarly, Hive Digital began its shift toward HPC and AI in 2022, with these ventures now contributing significantly to its revenue while it maintains strong Bitcoin mining operations.
