https://blockchaining.org/tags/asic/ Recent content in ASIC on Blockchaining.org Hugo en-us Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://blockchaining.org/2026/04/22/bitcoin-mining-hardware-has-consolidated-into-an-oligopoly.-that-is-now-a-grid-issue./ Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://blockchaining.org/2026/04/22/bitcoin-mining-hardware-has-consolidated-into-an-oligopoly.-that-is-now-a-grid-issue./ <p>Bitcoin was first mined in 2009 on a standard laptop CPU. Within a few years, miners had migrated to graphics processing units for their superior hashing efficiency, then to field-programmable gate arrays, and by 2013 to application-specific integrated circuits purpose-built for Bitcoin mining. Each hardware generation rendered the previous one unprofitable, because the proof-of-work mechanism adjusts difficulty to maintain a ten-minute block interval regardless of total network computing power. Better hardware does not reduce the network&rsquo;s energy consumption; it raises the difficulty floor, and the total energy expenditure grows with investment.</p>