Japanese startup launching 7 nm ‘Kamikaze’ mining chip

Originally established in November 2016, Fukuoka based semiconductor manufacturer TRIPLE-1 has developed ‘Kamikaze’, a semiconductor chip designed for use in bitcoin mining (the process needed to issue new cryptocurrencies and approve transactions) machines.

The chip applies cutting-edge 7 nm process technology, making it several times denser than conventional 16 nm mining chips. It was always the company’s goal for its chips to be state of the art the company says in a press release – stating "If we are going to make the number one in the world, then it shouldn’t be 16nm or 12nm. There is no point in making it unless we are going to make it 7nm."

The processing capacity of the new chip is said to be about twice that of the S9, which is the main product of Bitmain, China’s leading ASIC chip manufacturer which is thought to have around 70 percent of the world-wide ASIC mining semiconductor market.

TRIPLE-1 started developing its chip in February 2017, and completed the physical design in February 2018. On September 11, the company released the results of a performance evaluation of Kamikaze, announcing a significant reduction (over 50%) in power consumption, while maintaining the same hashrate as mainstream mining machines.

Based on the results, the company is aiming to start deliveries from the first-stage mass production of mining machines by the end of November this year.

Also in Japan, GMO Internet, a listed company operating internet-related businesses, launched the GMO miner B2, an internally developed cryptocurrency mining machine, in May.

Similar to the TRIPLE-1, the GMO miner B2 is also equipped with semiconductor chips using cutting-edge 7nm process technology. Deliveries of the GMO mining machine are expected to start around the end of October. While GMO Internet had been involved in crypto mining, the company has revealed a plan to refocus its business on selling in-house developed mining machines after recording an operating loss for the April-June quarter.

The expansion of Japanese companies into the mining business, and their unveiling of such advanced chip technology comes at an inconvenient time for Bitmain, which just filed its IPO application with the Hong Kong stock exchange on the 26th of September.

Bitmain’s IPO application follows its announcement on September 21st that it would soon release its own next-generation 7nm BM1391 ASIC chip, although the company has yet to confirm a shipping date for mining machines equipped with the BM1391 chips.