A 14nm chip for virtual currency mining jointly manufactured by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and Canaan Technology has completed testing and will be mass-produced and shipped in the second quarter of this year, according to Laoyaoba.com.
The chip may be used for mining of a kind of alt coin similiar to the Bitcoin, the report said.
Canaan is the worldwide leader in producing Blockchain servers and designing ASIC microprocessor solutions.
The report quoted industry insiders as saying that this is not the first time SMIC has attempted to enter the field of mining machines.
In early 2018, SMIC had cooperated with well-known people in the virtual currency industry of Dongguan. However, due to the sharp decline in the price of Bitcoin, which led to the withdrawal of investors. Although the design of the chip was completed, it was not mass-produced.
SMIC has been actively entering the mining machine industry, and has cooperated with other mining machine manufacturers, but there is no main production model.
In the financial report for the third quarter of 2019, SMIC revealed for the first time that its 14nm technology has been successfully mass-produced and will contribute revenue in the fourth quarter.
A recent research report said that the 14nm node is generally regarded by the industry as the inflection point of the integrated circuit manufacturing process. Overcoming the 14nm technology means that SMIC has begun to advance into "intermediate players."
In SMIC's first quarter earnings conference call, Dr. Liang Mengsong revealed that 14nm process capacity will continue to increase this year, with monthly capacity reaching 4K in March, 9K in July, and 15K in December.
Recently, the Honor Play4T series was released, and the Kirin 710A processor on this model has attracted attention from all walks of life.
Industry insiders said the chip was built by SMIC's 14nm FinFET process, which will be the first Kirin chip from SMIC.
