Samsung is jumping the bitcoin ASIC mining rig bandwagon with reports indicating that the consumer electronics giant now intends to mass produce ASIC miners to capture the burgeoning cryptocurrency mining market.
In what is believed to be an official statement by the company, Samsung has already started producing ASIC mining equipment and is already fulfilling a major order for a digital currency mining company in China. They have entered into a contract with a China based hardware mining manufacturer, but who exactly is unclear at this stage.
Reports indicate that in December 2017, Samsung inked a deal with Russian based bitcoin miner, Baikal, to supply ASICs. They had already completed testing at the time, with mass production beginning this month, providing Baikal with chips to update their miners.
Reports also suggest that Bitmain is going to end its contract with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and instead go ahead with Samsung for their new mining gear. Whether Bitmain has now changed supplier and is contracting with Samsung, or whether it is another China based miner, is unclear.
But Samsung’s entry into this space, even as potentially just a parts supplier, might mean their profits could now be affected by increased or decreased bitcoin mining demand and more generally crypto mining as they also mass produce GPUs. So far, however, their stock has been on an upwards trajectory:
The growing popularity of cryptocurrencies in South Korea has led to the involvement of more traditional companies, including some of their biggest online shopping malls which are to start accepting crypto-payments.
Samsung itself joined the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance in May last year, and in November announced a five months contract with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to establish an Information Strategy Plan for Blockchain based innovations in Seoul.
The South Korean giant, therefore, is no stranger to this space, but their apparent more direct involvement with cryptocurrencies might be a very first for a company of this size and reputation.