Cryptocurrency is a hot topic, and the trend has welcome another big player: Samsung.
The South Korean conglomerate company was having a great year in 2017. Its chip-making division has reached a record in sales, surpassing Intel, making it the largest chipset maker in the world.
And in early 2018, Samsung confirmed that it's also into cryptocurrency.
"Samsung’s foundry business is currently engaged in the manufacturing of cryptocurrency mining chips," said Samsung.
Here, the company has begun manufacturing ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) - chips that are designed specifically to mine Bitcoin and/or other cryptocurrencies. Previously, the tech giant already produces high-capacity memory chips for GPUs, which are conventionally used to handle graphics on computers, but are also capable when deployed for mining purposes.
Samsung's venture into the ASIC business, brings big names like China’s Bitmain and Canaan Creative, both of which work with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, and the U.S.-based Bitfury.
Entering the competition, Samsung is rivaling them to get the attention of companies and those who use and/or sell the hardware designed to mine cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies are created through the process of mining.
This involves networked computers in solving complex mathematical problems, while at the same time, powering the cryptocurrency's payment network. While how one cryptocurrency work differ from another, but they all employ similar process when creating new coins.
When cryptocurrency wasn't yet a hype, anyone could mine them using their home computer. But as they become popular, most notably Bitcoin, the mining process has become much more difficult. People are turning their head away from CPUs, to using GPUs and then ASICs which are more capable in mining.
Cryptocurrency mining is a profitable business. Looking back at TSMC, it has added $350-400 million in revenue in the last quarter of 2017, from just selling cryptomining hardware. So it's no wonder that Samsung is also looking to enter the space.