While the cryptocurrency mining industry has long been dominated by a handful of Asian manufacturers who treat their hardware specifications like state secrets, Block (formerly Square) has decided to take the rather unconventional approach of developing an open-source Bitcoin mining chip called Proto—because apparently what the world needs is another tech company convinced it can revolutionize an established industry through the radical concept of transparency.
The Proto chip, scheduled for launch in the second half of 2025, employs advanced 3-nanometer manufacturing technology and represents Block’s audacious attempt to challenge mining hardware giants Bitmain, MicroBT, and Canaan in a market valued between $3-6 billion. Unlike its competitors who guard their designs with the fervor of nuclear launch codes, Block’s open-source approach invites community feedback and improvements—a strategy that either demonstrates invigorating confidence or spectacular naivety.
Block’s open-source mining chip strategy represents either breathtaking confidence in disrupting a secretive industry or remarkable technological hubris.
What makes Proto particularly intriguing (beyond its philosophical departure from industry norms) is Block’s commitment to domestic manufacturing using U.S. suppliers. This strategic decision shields the company from the trade-related delays and tariff impacts that have occasionally transformed international supply chains into expensive logistical nightmares for competitors reliant on overseas production.
The technical specifications position Proto competitively against established miners like the Bitmain Antminer S19e XP Hyd 3U, which delivers 860 TH/s with energy efficiency around 13 J/TH, and the MicroBT WhatsMiner M66S++, operating between 350-600 TH/s with roughly 14-18 J/TH efficiency. Intel’s AXG Blockscale demonstrates that even tech giants are recognizing Bitcoin mining’s potential, achieving 148 TH/s with 256-chip configurations and power efficiency up to 26 J/TH. Block’s agreement with Core Scientific includes supplying Proto ASICs totaling approximately 15 exahashes per second, suggesting serious production ambitions rather than merely academic exercises.
The modular platform design optimizes space utilization in large-scale mining operations while prioritizing sustainability through component reusability—features that sound remarkably sensible until one considers the industry’s historical indifference to such concerns. Block’s development of a Mining Development Kit enables third-party developers to create customized solutions while maintaining the transparency ethos that distinguishes Proto from conventional mining hardware approaches. Block targets decentralizing Bitcoin mining across diverse users, from solo miners to large operators, though whether the market actually desires such democratization remains an open question. Given mining’s role as the security apparatus for Bitcoin, the success of Block’s decentralization efforts could have significant implications for network integrity.
Ultimately, Proto’s success will depend less on its noble open-source aspirations and more on its ability to deliver competitive hash rates, energy efficiency, and reliability—metrics that even the most transparent specifications cannot guarantee until real-world deployment separates marketing promises from operational reality.
