TRIPLE-1, Inc., a Japanese company engaged in developing semiconductors, has developed KAMIKAZE, a semiconductor chip used 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. 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 company with the top share in mining semiconductors.

TRIPLE-1 started developing the semiconductor chip in February 2017, and completed its 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 seems to be anticipating deliveries from the first-stage mass production of mining machines by the end of November this year.

In Japan, GMO Internet, Inc., 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 equipped with semiconductor chips using cutting-edge 7nm process technology. Deliveries of the mining machine are expected to start around the end of October. While GMO Internet had been involved in mining, the company has revealed a plan to focus on selling in-house developed mining machines after recording an operating loss for the April-June quarter.

Whether the expansion of Japanese companies into the mining business or technological advances change the future production shares of mining semiconductors is attracting attention.