Report Claims Samsung Is Producing 3nm ASIC Chips — Speculators Assume First Customer Is a Bitcoin Mining Rig Manufacturer

The electronics giant and largest corporation in South Korea, Samsung, is in the midst of creating 3-nanometer (3nm) semiconductors for a Chinese application-specific IC firm, sources have said. The new chip design has caused speculation among the crypto community that it’s possible Samsung may be creating application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for bitcoin miners.

Sources Say Samsung to Start 3nm Process This Week, Crypto Community Believes Chinese IC Firm May Be a Bitcoin Mining Rig Maker

• There is speculation that Samsung is creating ASICs for bitcoin mining and the BTC mining rig manufacturer Microbt may be a future customer. The sources stem from thelec.net publication which explains that the electronics company aims to trial the foundry production of the 3nm chips this week.
• Other reports have noted that Samsung hinted about the new chips in a 2022 earnings call. The company has also been involved in non-fungible token (NFT) assets this year and introduced smart televisions that support NFT infrastructure.
• The report stemming from thelec.net notes that an unnamed Chinese company focused on ASICs will be Samsung’s first 3nm chip customer but Qualcomm has also “made reservations for the process.”
• Rumors about Samsung creating 3nm chips specifically for bitcoin mining have spread like wildfire on social media. If Samsung is creating ASICs for bitcoin mining it will follow the lead of a couple of competitors like Intel and TSMC.
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has been producing ASICs crypto miners can use for years, and Intel just recently jumped into creating semiconductors for bitcoin mining this year.
• The Samsung speculation concerning the company building bitcoin-friendly ASICs has been published by a number of crypto news publications, and the original source thelec.net, cites people familiar with the matter.

• It’s possible that Samsung has already been creating bitcoin-friendly ASICs without anyone knowing about the production. For instance, while TSMC has supplied chips to companies like Bitmain, the Taiwan firm doesn’t formally announce these products.
• Local reports from South Korea in January 2018 say that Samsung was already working with a Chinese company by creating ASIC chips for mining digital currencies.
• “Samsung is operating a foundry that supplies a Chinese cryptocurrency mining firm with mining equipment and ASIC chips. Since Samsung has just begun its cryptocurrency mining venture, it is unsure of the revenues it can generate from it,” the local media reported at the time.