30s Summary

Canaan’s CEO, NG Zhang, has discussed the evolution of Bitcoin mining and revealed plans for new home-friendly mining products. Zhang explained that improvements in hardware and the growth of the ecosystem have transformed the industry since the first Avalon miner model was launched. While the barriers to home mining in terms of profitability are rising, Canaan plans to support this area with a new line of energy-saving products. Looking ahead, Zhang said Canaan is committed to shaping a future where blockchain-based digital currencies become a universal currency and settlement system.

Full Article

The world of Bitcoin mining has seen a massive shift over the years thanks to the boom of cryptocurrencies. Even though it’s got bigger, ASIC devices – or devices specially designed for a specific application – still rule the roost when it comes to mining Bitcoin quickly, effectively and without using much energy.

ASIC miners were made to work with Bitcoin’s SHA-256 hashing algorithm, and they’re way better at doing hash calculations than regular computer processors. What this adds up to is a miner that’s more efficient and more likely to be successful. The first ASIC devices that could be bought by the public popped up around 2013, and we have Nangeng ‘NG’ Zhang, a pioneer of Bitcoin in China, to thank for that.

NG Zhang and his company, Canaan Inc., are big players in the world of Bitcoin mining. They even have a listing on the Nasdaq Global Market. In a recent interview, Zhang gave us the lowdown on what’s happening in the Bitcoin mining industry and told us about some new home-friendly miners that Canaan has up their sleeve.

Zhang explained that Bitcoin mining has evolved in several ways over the past decade. Hardware has gotten a lot better – the first Avalon miner model had a hashrate of 66 Ghs and used 700W of power, but the 15th-generation A1566 powers through 200,000 Ghs and uses about 3600W. That’s a performance improvement of around 3,000 times and an energy efficiency improvement of nearly 600 times.

The ecosystem is also significantly larger. According to Zhang, back in 2013 they were a small community of enthusiasts. In just two years, that community had grown into a full-blown industry. These days, it’s big enough to make waves in the global financial system.

At the start, Canaan’s customer base was made up of a few tech enthusiasts. Now, they’ve got individual investors, institutional investors and even publicly listed companies on their books.

Zhang also recalled how he realized the potential of hardware implementation for Bitcoin’s algorithm. If Bitcoin mining didn’t move towards a domination by ASICs, the risk was that organizations holding the majority of general-purpose computing power would attack the Bitcoin blockchain, leading to its failure. Fortunately, Zhang was able to successfully make this transition quickly.

Today, the mining industry needs big investments, with ongoing growth in facility size, company structure, and investment levels. Despite these changes, Zhang feels that it’s maintained its decentralized nature with no serious monopoly forming. Canaan is planning to develop the mining industry further through business logic and environmentally friendly strategies, including a new line of energy-saving home heater products.

However, Zhang notes the barriers to entry in mining are rising and as such, it’s tough for home mining to compete with institutional mining when it comes purely down to profitability. That’s why they’re promoting home mining, not just by reworking machines meant for bigger players, but by designing entirely new products for home use.

Canaan’s future applications of their technology are not just innovative, but practical and enjoyable too. Think hands warmers with 140W power, and 800W space heaters and water heaters that can warm up homes and give hot water. These devices not only convert electricity to heat, but also add to the security of the blockchain by outputting hashrate.

To stay ahead of the game, Canaan is constantly investing in research and development to meet customer needs and they’re always using the most advanced technology to design their chips. They’re also innovating in terms of their business model. Canaan has expanded from offering mining machines to providing system solutions for customers, even building and operating facilities on their behalf, which they believe is key for staying competitive.

Overall, Zhang sees a future where digital currencies, potentially blockchain-based, become a universal currency and settlement system for Earth and beyond, with artificial intelligence and mining requirements merging to create a more complete ecosystem. And Canaan is certainly committed to shaping this future.