ASIC Chip Independence is Coming to Home Mining in 2025

Introduction: A New Era for Home Bitcoin Mining Home Bitcoin mining is poised for a renaissance in 2025. After years of dominance by industrial-scale operations using proprietary mining rigs, a wave of open-source ASIC chip developments is bringing mining back to the people. Three breakthrough initiatives – Auradine’s open chip offerings, Block’s open-source ASIC project, and Intel’s short-lived but illuminating BZM ASIC chip – are reshaping the landscape. These developments promise to transform the Bitaxe project and similar bitcoin home mining hardware efforts from niche experiments into scalable, user-friendly technologies. The result could be a future where anyone can plug in a quiet Bitaxe mining rig at home, contribute meaningful hashrate, and even reuse the miner’s heat to warm their house. This article explores these optimistic trends and why they matter for decentralization, innovation in hashrate heat reuse, and the empowerment of home miners. Home Bitcoin mining Bitaxe project Bitaxe and the Bitmain ASIC Era: From Salvaged Chips to Open-Source Mining To appreciate the future, we must understand Bitaxe’s past dependence on Bitmain’s ASICs. Bitaxe is a fully open-source Bitcoin miner project that ingeniously repurposed Bitmain’s highly efficient mining chips (like the BM1370). In early iterations, hobbyists literally salvaged chips from discarded Antminer hashboards to build Bitaxe units. This manual process involved carefully removing and re-soldering ASIC chips from old mining rigs – a labor-intensive workaround necessitated by the fact that major manufacturers like Bitmain do not sell ASIC chips independently of their own machines. As Bitaxe creator “Skot” noted, “We have essentially just one chip maker right now… that’s Bitmain,” and their hardware is closed-source and built solely for large data centers. In other words, 99.9% of Bitcoin mining hardware has been designed for industrial farms, not for home enthusiasts. Bitaxe “We have essentially just one chip maker right now… that’s Bitmain,” Despite these hurdles, the Bitaxe community demonstrated what’s possible with open hardware. By reverse-engineering Bitmain’s boards and open-sourcing the design, Skot and others created a single-chip miner that runs on a Wi-Fi-enabled controller, drawing modest power. Bitaxe miners using recycled Bitmain chips achieve around 1–1.2 TH/s per chip at ~15 J/TH efficiency – performance respectable for home use, if not competitive with multi-chip commercial units. Thousands of Bitaxe units have been built and sold under the open-source model, proving strong demand for Bitcoin home mining hardware that is quiet, efficient, and decentralization-friendly. However, scaling this concept was bottlenecked by chip supply. Salvaging chips from used boards is slow, supplies are limited, and quality can be inconsistent. The dream has been to get fresh ASIC chips on reels or trays – like any standard electronic component – to streamline Bitaxe manufacturing. In 2025, that dream is finally coming within reach. Auradine’s ASIC Breakthrough and Open Chip Sales to Bitaxe Auradine, a Silicon Valley–based Bitcoin mining startup, is emerging as a game-changer for open hardware. Founded in 2022, Auradine took a different approach from incumbents by focusing on cutting-edge silicon and U.S.-engineered miner systems. In mid-2024, Auradine announced it had begun shipping its Teraflux 2800 series Bitcoin miners built on a 3-nanometer process, achieving energy efficiency as low as 14 J/TH – on par with or better than the latest from Bitmain. One immersion-cooled model delivers up to 375 TH/s with those 14 J/TH efficiencies in optimal mode, showcasing Auradine’s prowess in ASIC design. These miners are the first generation of American-made machines to rival the performance of Asia’s top producers. Auradine American What’s most exciting for Bitaxe and home miners is Auradine’s stated willingness to open up chip sales beyond their own systems. Unlike Bitmain (which sells only complete miners), Auradine has signaled it could supply its ASIC chips directly to third parties and enthusiasts. This represents a tectonic shift in the ASIC supply chain. For the first time, a leading-edge Bitcoin ASIC might be available on the open market – in reel or tray form – to projects like Bitaxe. If Bitaxe builders could purchase Auradine’s chips, they’d no longer need to pry chips off old hashboards; instead, they could assemble new boards with brand-new chips in quantity. Bitaxe manufacturing would leap from artisanal to scalable. Hobbyists and small companies around the world could order Auradine chips and spin up their own batches of Bitaxe mining rigs, tailoring them for various form factors or use cases. This represents a tectonic shift in the ASIC supply chain. While specific partnership details are still unfolding, the implications are huge. Access to new ASIC chips would streamline Bitaxe production by eliminating the manual salvage step, reducing costs and assembly time. Quality and efficiency would improve since the chips are fresh from the fab, not second-hand. We could see a proliferation of Bitaxe variants – perhaps multi-chip boards or custom miners – now that the silicon “engine” can be sourced reliably. Auradine’s open stance also pressures other manufacturers to consider selling chips; it lowers the barrier for anyone to innovate with mining hardware. In short, Auradine’s 4nm/3nm ASIC technology (reportedly achieving industry-leading efficiency of ~14.5 J/TH in hydro-cooled units) could be unleashed into the wild, seeding a new ecosystem of homebrew and open-source miners far beyond what was possible with scavenged parts. multi-chip boards unleashed Beyond the Bitaxe project, Auradine’s emergence is significant for decentralization. Their U.S.-based production and willingness to collaborate address some geopolitical choke points. With rumors of tariffs on Chinese-made mining equipment, having a domestic source of ASICs provides resilience. It also diversifies the intellectual property ownership of mining chip designs, which until now has been concentrated in a few Chinese companies. Auradine’s rapid funding (over $300M raised by 2025) and partnerships (investors include semiconductor giants and even Bitcoin mining firms like Marathon) suggest they have the backing to challenge the Bitmain monopoly. For home miners, the message is optimistic: the latest ASIC chip technology isn’t locked behind closed doors anymore – it’s coming to the open market, and Bitaxe stands to be one of the first beneficiaries. Block’s Open-Source ASIC Initiative: A Standalone Chip for the People Jack Dorsey’s Block (formerly Square) is another major catalyst for the future of home mining. In 2024, Block announced it was developing an open Bitcoin mining system, explicitly aiming to improve decentralization of mining. A core element of this plan is an open-source ASIC chip that can be used by anyone. Unlike typical industry practice, Block intends to offer a standalone mining chip alongside a full miner, making it one of the only large vendors to do so. This means Block’s ASIC could be purchased by third-party manufacturers, hobbyists, or projects like Bitaxe to incorporate into their own hardware. Block has stated that providing a commercially available chip will “encourage innovation and new use cases in the mining industry” – precisely the effect home mining enthusiasts have been hoping for. Jack Dorsey’s Block standalone mining chip alongside a full miner “encourage innovation and new use cases in the mining industry” Behind this initiative is some serious semiconductor engineering. Block’s hardware team reached a prototype at 5 nm and by 2024 had successfully completed a 3-nanometer ASIC design that meets their performance goals. This is bleeding-edge process technology (3 nm is the most advanced node in production as of 2025), on par with the latest iPhone chips. By leveraging such tech, Block’s ASIC aims to be highly efficient and competitive in hashrate-per-watt. Indeed, Block entered into a large supply agreement for 15 EH/s of mining hardware with Core Scientific in 2024, indicating that their designs are ready for prime time. For the Bitaxe project and home miners, Block’s open ASIC could be revolutionary. Skot, Bitaxe’s creator, has mentioned he is “patiently waiting” for Block’s chips, which should work in any mining device and would allow truly open hardware at the silicon level. If Block makes their chips available for sale (or even open-sources the design files, as some speculate), it would break the long-standing barrier to entry in mining manufacturing. Suddenly, a small startup or DIY builder could obtain state-of-the-art bitcoin ASIC chips without begging favors from Bitmain or resorting to eBay. Imagine community-designed miners using Block chips, or existing open projects like Bitaxe simply swapping out the older Bitmain silicon for Block’s 3nm chips – gaining a massive boost in efficiency and hash power overnight. “patiently waiting” Block’s initiative also includes soliciting feedback from the mining community, reflecting an ethos of collaboration. They’ve asked miners (big and small) to weigh in on needs like reliability, software support, and procurement processes. This open dialogue contrasts with the secrecy of traditional manufacturers. Ultimately, if Block follows through, we may see “Block Inside” chips powering a new generation of bitcoin home mining hardware designed by independent teams worldwide. It’s a very optimistic development: a well-funded Silicon Valley company is using its resources to produce open mining tech for the masses, echoing the early PC era when standard components enabled an explosion of personal computing. In the next few years, Block’s open-source ASIC could become a cornerstone for home mining rigs, from Bitaxe units to custom heaters and beyond. “Block Inside” Intel’s BZM Bitcoin ASIC: A Lost Opportunity and Lessons Learned No discussion of emerging ASIC developments can ignore Intel’s foray into Bitcoin mining – and its abrupt exit. In early 2022, Intel surprised the industry by unveiling its Bonanza Mine (BZM) ASIC chips under the product name Blockscale, marking the first time a mainstream semiconductor company entered the Bitcoin hardware arena . Intel’s second-generation chip, dubbed BZM2, promised roughly 135 TH/s of hashpower at 26 J/TH efficiency for a full miner, according to non-official disclosures. Major mining firms took notice – Hive Blockchain agreed to purchase Intel’s ASICs to boost its hash rate by nearly 95% (adding 1.9 EH/s) . With a price around $5,625 per miner, Intel undercut some competitors and offered an alternative to Bitmain and MicroBT gear . Intel’s foray into Bitcoin mining However, Intel’s venture was short-lived. By April 2023, barely a year after launch, Intel discontinued the Blockscale ASIC line with no new generations announced. The company cited a need to focus on its core IDM 2.0 foundry business amid broader belt-tightening. The timing was unfortunate – Intel’s chips became available just as a Bitcoin bear market hit, squeezing margins and dampening demand. With management changes and strategic refocusing, Intel shelved its Bitcoin mining ambitions, stating only that it would “monitor market opportunities” going forward. In effect, the Intel BZM chip was abandoned, leaving only a handful of clients with chips in hand and ending hopes for a continued pipeline of Intel ASICs . For home mining enthusiasts, Intel’s exit was disappointing but instructive. On one hand, it proved that new players can enter the ASIC arena – Intel’s Blockscale chips demonstrated efficiencies up to 26 J/TH, showing that the dominance of Bitmain could be challenged on a technical level. Intel’s involvement also briefly introduced more diversity in supply; companies like Hive and Argo were excited to deploy miners built on non-Bitmain silicon, which could have reduced over-reliance on any single manufacturer. On the other hand, Intel’s quick pullout underscored the volatility and pressure of the mining industry – profitability can swing with Bitcoin’s price and energy costs, and even a tech titan might not find the business worth the risk in a downturn. In a notable show of community support, Intel (via partner Proto Mining) donated 256,000 BZM2 ASIC chips to the nonprofit 256 Foundation to advance open-source mining and educational initiatives. Meanwhile, unverified industry chatter suggests that as many as 30 million Blockscale ASIC chips remain warehoused in Intel facilities worldwide—awaiting a repurposing use case, if someone can unlock their potential. The legacy of Intel’s BZM project now serves as motivation for others like Auradine and Block. These newer initiatives learned from Intel’s attempt—focusing on even more advanced processes (3–4 nm vs. Intel’s 7 nm), and perhaps operating with leaner, Bitcoin-focused teams that can weather market cycles. For Bitaxe and its community, Intel’s BZM was a “what could have been.” If Intel had decided to sell its Blockscale chips openly, one can imagine Bitaxe builders eagerly buying trays of BZM2 ASICs to power homemade rigs. That scenario never materialized, but it set the stage for the current optimism: if not Intel, then someone else. Now that “someone else” is here in the form of Auradine and Block, carrying the torch that Intel dropped. The lesson is that decentralizing mining hardware won’t come from old-guard tech giants alone; it will also require upstarts and open-source ethos to see it through. Proto Mining 256 Foundation From Hashboards to Reels: Streamlining Bitaxe Manufacturing The availability of new ASIC chips on the market – thanks to players like Auradine and Block – stands to fundamentally streamline how projects like Bitaxe are built. Gone will be the days of cannibalizing hashboards from second-hand Antminers. Instead of delicately desoldering chips one by one, Bitaxe makers could simply order a reel of fresh ASICs, solder them onto PCBs using standard reflow tools, and spin up dozens or hundreds of units with relative ease. This transition from scavenging to sourcing is akin to moving from finding spare car parts at a junkyard to ordering brand-new components from a catalog – it brings reliability, scale, and professionalism. What concrete benefits will this bring? For one, the production volume of Bitaxe miners can increase dramatically. Many more individuals and small businesses could start assembling Bitaxes if chips are readily purchasable. We might see local electronics shops or mining enthusiasts running small assembly lines of Bitaxe rigs, making home mining hardware accessible in regions far beyond the current clusters. With scalable production, the cost per unit should drop as well. Today’s Bitaxe Gamma kits (using Bitmain BM1370 chips) sell for $150.00s for ~1.2 TH/s of performance, partly because of the manual labor and low volume. In a future where chips come on trays, one could envision sub-$100 DIY kits or fully assembled mini-miners at lower prices, putting them within reach of more hobbyists. Bitaxe Gamma kits Consistency and quality control would also improve. New chips straight from the fab offer better reliability than used ones desoldered from aging boards. Fewer chips will be dead on arrival or weakened from prior use, meaning higher success rates when building a device. The Bitaxe’s stability and lifespan should improve, which is important for home users who may not have advanced troubleshooting skills or spare parts lying around. Additionally, having official chip datasheets and support (which Auradine and Block would presumably provide) makes it easier to write optimized firmware and integrate the chips correctly – no more reverse-engineering mystery silicon. In short, chips on reels enable Bitaxe to graduate from a hacker project into a product that can be manufactured and supported more like a consumer device. Perhaps most excitingly, accessible chips unlock creativity. Builders could experiment with custom board designs: for example, a multi-chip Bitaxe that uses 4 or 6 chips for more hashrate, or a Bitaxe variant optimized for ultra-low power at reduced hash. The community can mix and match components, incorporate different cooling solutions, and basically innovate at the hardware level – something nearly impossible when chips were the limiting factor. Just as open-source software flourished once developers had easy access to compilers and libraries, open-source hardware for Bitcoin mining will flourish now that the ASIC “heart” can be freely obtained. The Bitaxe project has already seen iterations (v2.2 with BM1397, “Ultra” with BM1366, “Gamma” with BM1370, etc.), but future versions might use entirely new chips from the likes of Auradine or Block. In sum, the shift from salvage to supply is pivotal: it transforms Bitaxe from a clever recycling endeavor into a reproducible, scalable bitcoin mining hardware platform. hardware Empowering Home Mining: Heat Reuse and Innovative Use-Cases As ASIC chips become more accessible and home mining rigs proliferate, we’ll likely witness a boom in innovation around how and where mining is done. One area gaining a lot of attention is hashrate heat reuse – finding productive ways to use the heat that ASIC miners produce. Unlike industrial mining farms that often treat heat as a waste product to be managed, home miners can capitalize on it for everyday needs. For example, there’s a new class of products colloquially known as bitcoin mining heaters: electric heaters for your home that also mine Bitcoin. One startup, Heatbit, has already developed a compact heater that contains ASIC chips and mines Bitcoin while warming the room. Essentially, you get paid (in sats) to heat your house, instead of paying for heat alone. These devices usually run quietly and filter air, making them practical appliances. It’s a prime example of how accessible ASICs are inspiring cross-over innovations that blend into domestic life. home mining rigs Beyond commercial products, DIY enthusiasts have been repurposing miner heat in creative ways. Greenhouse heating is a popular experiment – using one or two mining rigs to keep a greenhouse warm year-round for plants. Since mining ASICs continuously output 40–80°C air, they can serve as a low-grade heat source for urban farming or horticulture. Similarly, some have directed miner heat to preheat domestic hot water systems or to heat pools. In colder climates, miners can be integrated into HVAC ducting to supplement central heating. Essentially, anywhere electric resistance heating would normally be used, a Bitcoin miner can be used instead – achieving the same heating effect while also earning Bitcoin. A recent report noted that the mining industry generates on the order of 100 TWh of heat annually (enough to heat an entire country like Finland) and that more of this heat “is starting to be captured and repurposed” for things like district heating and food production in innovative pilot projects. All of this points to a future where bitcoin home mining hardware isn’t just about earning coin – it’s part of a broader energy innovation. The Bitaxe, for instance, with its low power and quiet profile, could be embedded in a heat-recycling setup. Envision an open-source mining rig attached to a thermal storage tank, or a rack of Bitaxe units heating a home office while their fans exhaust into the room. Because Bitaxe is open and customizable, tinkerers can adapt it for optimal heat capture (perhaps by attaching water-cooling blocks or ducting the airflow). The more that chips are available and affordable, the more people will try these experiments at scale. This could lead to bitcoin mining heaters and similar concepts becoming commonplace. Instead of hiding ASIC miners in the garage, future home miners might proudly run integrated mining-heating systems that offset energy costs. Another positive effect of home mining growth is community building and education. When mining is something you can do with a $150 device on your desk, it demystifies the process and invites more people to participate in Bitcoin’s security. The ethos of Bitcoin – decentralization and empowerment of the individual – is directly served by these trends. We’re likely to see a flourishing of DIY miner projects, shared designs, and knowledge exchange (via forums, Discord groups like OSMU, etc.) focused on improving home mining efficiency and finding new uses for mining hardware. From ultra-efficient DIY miners to artful “Bitcoin heater” installations, accessible ASIC chips will inspire a generation of makers to get involved. Crucially, this expands the base of Bitcoin nodes and small-scale hashpower contributors, enhancing network decentralization and resistance to control. Centralization Risks and the Geopolitics of ASIC Production While the future looks bright, it’s important to acknowledge the current centralization in ASIC manufacturing – and why the above developments are so critical. Up to now, the vast majority of Bitcoin ASICs have been designed by only a handful of companies (Bitmain, MicroBT, Canaan, etc.) and almost all are fabricated in East Asia (primarily Taiwan’s TSMC for Bitmain/MicroBT, and some at Samsung for others). This geographic and corporate concentration poses risks. For one, any disruption in Taiwan – whether geopolitical conflict or natural disaster – could choke off the supply of new mining chips globally. Similarly, policy changes such as export restrictions or tariffs can heavily impact who gets hardware. The U.S. considering tariffs on Chinese mining rigs is a real example: if implemented, American miners would suddenly find it much harder or costlier to import the latest gear, potentially disadvantaging them and pushing more hashpower overseas. There’s also the intellectual property concentration issue. Bitmain has been the undisputed leader, many say years ahead of competitors in ASIC design. They have accumulated huge advantages in experience and patent portfolios. This has made it extremely difficult for new entrants to catch up or for competitors to design chips from scratch. Bitmain’s dominance was illustrated when it sold nearly 30 million ASIC chips in a single order to Marathon Digital (78,000 next-gen miners with 384 chips each) for almost $880 million. That’s one company selling to one customer – a level of scale that highlights how concentrated the market is in a few hands. Such concentration can lead to centralization of mining power (if only a few can afford or access the best equipment) and even censorship or control risks (if the manufacturers or large miners collude, for instance). years Auradine and Block entering the fray help mitigate some of these risks by diversifying ASIC production across more entities and regions. Auradine producing in the U.S. with its own design means North American miners have a domestic source, reducing reliance on Asia. Block open-sourcing its designs (or at least distributing chips widely) means knowledge and capability won’t reside in just one company. However, it’s worth noting that even these new players will likely utilize the same foundries (e.g., TSMC or Samsung) for fabrication – since no one else can make 3–5 nm chips. So, the geographical bottleneck of chip fabs remains. The world’s leading-edge fabs are few (TSMC, Samsung, and Intel’s own fabs which so far aren’t used for Bitcoin chips), and they are incredibly expensive to build and operate. In fact, the machines required for manufacturing, like ASML’s extreme ultraviolet lithography tools, cost on the order of $150 million each and are so complex that only a few companies on the planet can even use them. This means true decentralization of ASIC fabrication is a very long-term challenge – we’re unlikely to see garage fabs or small fab startups making 5nm chips anytime soon due to these astronomic barriers to entry. each true What we can hope for in the medium term is a continued expansion of design diversity and a broader distribution of chip supply. The intellectual know-how, once limited to Bitmain’s secret labs, is now diffusing: talent is moving to startups, and open projects are sharing more information. Even if the physical production is limited to a few foundries, having multiple companies (Auradine, Block, possibly others) ordering wafers means no single entity controls the spigot. Additionally, if Block’s open strategy succeeds, any sufficiently funded group could contract a fab to produce chips from Block’s blueprints – effectively outsourcing production to a fab of their choice. This could introduce competition among manufacturing locations (for instance, maybe some future Block-designed chips get made at a new TSMC fab in Arizona, or at Intel’s foundry services, rather than exclusively in Taiwan). outsourcing In summary, the centralization of ASIC production is being challenged on several fronts. There is still a long way to go to achieve the level of decentralization Bitcoin’s ethos aspires to – where mining hardware is as ubiquitous and open as personal computers – but 2025 is marking a pivotal turning point. The concentration of power is being diluted by new entrants, and the stranglehold of closed-source designs is loosening thanks to open collaboration. The risks haven’t vanished, but they are being addressed head-on by the very developments we’ve discussed. risks haven’t vanished Conclusion: An Optimistic Path Forward for Home Mining Standing at the midpoint of 2025, the trajectory of Bitcoin mining hardware feels more optimistic and inclusive than ever. The convergence of Auradine’s chip sales, Block’s open-source ASIC push, and lessons from Intel’s BZM experiment are painting a future in which ASIC accessibility fuels a new wave of innovation. For the Bitaxe project, these changes are like rocket fuel: what started as a clever hack – squeezing a Bitmain chip onto a tiny board – is evolving into a scalable platform for Bitcoin home mining hardware. Soon, a Bitaxe miner won’t be limited by the scrap parts one can find, but rather empowered by the best silicon money can buy (and openly sell). The manufacturing process will be smoother, the devices more powerful and efficient, and the community of users larger and more diverse. openly The ripple effects on the Bitcoin ecosystem are profoundly positive. As home miners multiply, hashpower distribution will improve, strengthening network decentralization. No, grandma’s 1 TH/s USB stick won’t outmine a giant farm, but thousands of such sticks in millions of homes create a vast, distributed base of participants. Each is a little beacon of Bitcoin’s ethos in action: permissionless, user-level involvement in securing the network. Moreover, the integration of mining into homes and businesses – whether via heating solutions, smart energy systems, or hobby projects – helps demystify and normalize Bitcoin mining. It ceases to be an obscure, specialized industry and becomes something that everyday people can tinker with, benefit from, and understand. The ripple effects on the Bitcoin ecosystem We should also acknowledge the empowerment aspect. With accessible ASICs and open designs, innovation is no longer confined to corporate R&D labs. We might see a renaissance similar to the early days of personal computing or the Internet of Things – a Cambrian explosion of ideas for how to use these mining chips. Perhaps a school science lab will use a Bitaxe to teach students about blockchain while heating the classroom. Or a small town could install a cluster of Block’s ASICs to monetize excess renewable energy, the waste heat warming a community center. When the tools are in everyone’s hands, creativity flourishes. In an ascending trajectory, all signs point upward: more chip producers cooperating with open projects, more efficient and versatile ASIC chips hitting the market, and more individuals joining the mining fold. Challenges remain, to be sure – from navigating supply chain constraints to ensuring mining stays profitable for small players – but the momentum is clearly toward greater inclusion. The path forward for ASIC accessibility and home mining empowerment in the Bitcoin ecosystem is bright. As the saying goes, “in a gold rush, it’s those who sell the shovels (or the axes) that prosper”. In this new gold rush of Bitcoin, the “axes” – our ASICs – are finally making their way into the hands of the many, not just the few. And that bodes well for the decentralized future of Bitcoin. decentralized future of Bitcoin If you liked this article, sign up for the Solo Satoshi VIP Club to receive our bi-weekly newsletter and receive the best deals on Bitcoin home miners! Solo Satoshi VIP Club