Initially, there was solely a CPU for Bitcoin mining, then a GPU. Later, Mighty Asic appeared in 2013, and with this, the shape issue for the “shoebox” symbolizing the Bitcoin mining business appeared.
What's coming subsequent? Does the shoebox design final as a regular for Bitcoin Mining ASICS? Or will one other kind issue that resembles a standard knowledge heart server win?
ASIC makers are more and more betting on the latter – or at the least betting that server rack designs for underwater cooling will grow to be a big a part of the Bitcoin mining fleet. Moreover, they’re leaning in the direction of cooling “on to the chip” for much more environment friendly enhancements.
Auradine's new AH3880 was launched in March 2025.
Final September, Bitmain unveiled the U3S21Expph (slightly mouthful, eh?) mannequin developed in partnership with the Hut 8. Its U3 design signifies that one unit takes up three areas in a standard server rack. Microbt quickly adopted with the M63 Hydro collection, as did Bitdeer's Sealminer A2 Hydro unit.
Following the swimsuit, Auradine launched the server rack mannequin, the AH3880 this March. The U2 design occupying two server slots is a bit smaller, however packs the hashrate per unit per area at 600 th/s (or 300 th/s per slot) for Bitmain's 860 Th/s (286.66 th/s per slot).
Sneakers out
So, what in regards to the change from a standard shoebox? For Aurazine, it's all about buyer demand.
“(Our new mannequin) is predicated on plenty of suggestions we have now obtained from miner purchasers… Now we have been working with miners all through the design course of,” Auradine CSO Sanjay Gupta stated in his newest mining pod. “They confirmed us that they have been in search of a high-quality hydro-based miner.”
In its partnership with Bitmain for U3S21Expph, “Hut 8 contributed to customized designs of the infrastructure, significantly the U-form issue appropriate with HPC-style structure,” Hut 8 investor relations head Sue Ennis informed Blockspacelast in September. (Extra particulars on excessive efficiency computing angles later).
The benefit of server rack ASICs is their standardization. In line with knowledge heart developer Cyrus One, Bitcoin Miners are more and more marching in phases with the standard knowledge heart business, permitting them to undertake 40% of direct liquid-to-chip cooling by 2026.
If miners undertake this design, provide chains will be optimized by converging on server designs which are theoretically greatest practices within the main boy knowledge heart sector.
This makes buildings and repairs to Bitcoin mines simpler. It may possibly additionally make mining corporations extra agile if you wish to succumb to Bitcoin mining and different types of computing.
Enter AI and HPC
Like so many mining information as we speak, in fact, the ghost of AI is looming within the background.
If miners construct knowledge facilities utilizing conventional server rack designs, then they need to modify these websites for AI and HPC masses, one much less drawback is. After all, they nonetheless want to reinforce the muscle groups, muscle groups and veins of the operation utilizing extra strong networking and electrical infrastructure, however server racks present the spine of AI/HPC companies that require much less restructuring than legacy Bitcoin mines. As Ennis stated, “The u kind issue is… appropriate with HPC fashion architectures.”
To mirror this, Gupta informed us in an interview with our Mining Pod, “(The U-form issue) is utilized in AI knowledge facilities. It's simple to regulate. It additionally has a excessive (energy) density in AI knowledge facilities.
Who’s shopping for it?
For sure, Bitcoin mining's server rack kind issue remains to be in its early phases and is promised that such a design may win, however there isn’t any assure.
First, Bitcoin miners must rewire the inside of the mine in addition to fully rewiring {the electrical} infrastructure (which is unlikely to occur in present mines).
Brad Cuddy of Cholla, who runs a water-cooled ASIC miner, informed Blockspace final September that he was “thrilled to see the transition from Shoebox Design to the (server rack) kind issue.” Nevertheless, he stated the voltage vary of the U3S21Expph isn’t appropriate with the particular electrical infrastructure utilized by miners in different Bitmain fashions.
“The restricted vary of 380-415 volts reduces mod compatibility. It superior the voltage vary as much as 480 volts, permitting for better interoperability with present infrastructure deployments,” he stated.
So it's attainable that miners will see these models built-in into new websites. HUT 8 is taking this method in its plan to host 15 EH/s for U3S21EXPH models for Bitmain at its Vega, Texas web site.
Thus far, the Hut 8 is the one public purchaser of Bitmain's U3S21Expph. Gupta didn’t disclose which miners have contracts for AH3880, however he stated it contains a number of industrial-scale personal and public miners. It's no shock to see Mara, one in every of Auradine's key companions, investing greater than $50 million within the firm.
Assuming that Hut 8's Vega web site runs easily on Bitmain's mannequin and Mara deploys the Aurazine deployment, public miners could lead on the place others observe, permitting new kind components to slowly penetrate fashionable mining designs.
