This week, the Nasdaq-listed bitcoin miner Iris Energy Limited announced it has boosted its hashrate to 9 exahash per second (EH/s) and aims to reach 10 EH/s in the coming month. This development follows the network’s fourth halving and occurs amid a period when Bitcoin’s hashprice has significantly declined, exerting intense pressure on BTC mining […]
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Bitcoin Miner Iris Energy Inks AI Cloud Services Deal With Poolside AI
The bitcoin mining corporation Iris Energy, listed on the Nasdaq, has declared its entry into a cloud services partnership with the artificial intelligence (AI) startup Poolside AI. The collaboration with Poolside comes after Iris acquired 248 Nvidia H100 graphics processing units (GPUs) for million in August 2023. Iris Energy Partners With Poolside AI On […]
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Worldcoin to Redesign Iris Scanning Orb
Worldcoin will change the design of the Orb, the device used for scanning the irises of users as proof of personhood for the project, to be more friendly and less polarizing. Alex Blania, CEO and co-founder of Tools For Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin, stated that the next iteration would be akin to an “Apple product.”
Worldcoin Redesigns the Orb to Be “Much More Friendly”
Worldcoin, the biometric ID and wallet project, is making changes to the Orb, a device used to scan the irises of users wishing to prove their personhood, to make it less polarizing. Alex Blania, CEO of Tools for Humanity, explained that the current design of the Orb was agreed upon before he arrived at the company almost four years ago.
Blania hopes to tone down the device with a programmed upgrade, making it more appealing and adding personalization options. In a chat, Blania told Techcrunch more about this redesign. He explained:
The new Orb is coming and the next iterations will look quite different.
Furthermore, Blania clarified that this new version of the Orb will be more friendly and appealing, similar to an Apple product. He also acknowledged that the current design was polarizing, with some people loving it and some hating it due to its sci-fi-like appearance.
While there was no announcement of the precise date of the reveal of this upgraded Orb, Blania stated that it would be launched in the first half of 2024 and that it had already been field-tested.
The Wordcoin project, launched officially in June, already has more than 3 million unique users in 120 countries, registering more than 190,000 signups just in the last week. In July, Sam Altman, co-founder of the Worldcoin project, declared that the project was accelerating, reporting that there was one signup every eight seconds.
What do you think about the Worldcoin project and the current design of the Orb? Tell us in the comments section below.
Iris Energy Boosts Bitcoin Mining Capacity to 6 EH/s, Eyes 20 EH/s Milestone by H2 2024
According to an announcement from the publicly-listed bitcoin miner Iris Energy, the mining operation has increased its operating capacity to 6 exahash per second (EH/s) and expects an additional 4 EH/s to be online by the first half of 2024.
Iris Boosts Mining Capacity to 6 EH/s Amidst IREN Share Dip
The announcement on Tuesday from Iris Energy (Nasdaq: IREN) highlighted the growth of its mining operations to 6 EH/s, following the deployment of new mining hardware. Over the last six months, Iris has reported several purchases of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining rigs.
Notably, in October 2023, the company disclosed the acquisition of Bitmain S21 Antminers worth .6 million. This was followed in November by the purchase of 7,000 T21 Antminers from the ASIC manufacturer.
Additionally, in December, Iris announced the acquisition of another 8,380 T21 Antminers from Bitmain. Iris Energy is projecting an increase in its mining operations, expecting an additional 4 exahash per second (EH/s) to become operational by the end of the first half of 2024.
The company also emphasized its trajectory towards achieving a 20 EH/s target by the latter half of 2024. This ambitious goal comes on the heels of a significant acquisition – a purchase and fixed price option agreement for an extra 10 EH/s of Bitmain T21 miners.
Shares of IREN have not performed as strongly as they did in 2023, experiencing a notable decline of 47.2% against the U.S. dollar since the start of the year. A recent analysis by theminermag.com reveals that publicly-listed mining companies have seen a reduction in value, amounting to billion, since the year’s commencement.
What do you think about Iris expanding its hashrate by adding 6 EH/s of hashpower? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Australian Bitcoin Miner Iris Energy Set to Acquire 8,380 New-Generation T21 Miners
Bitcoin mining company Iris Energy Limited said on Dec. 15 that it expects to take delivery of 8,380 new-generation T21 miners from Bitmain. Delivery of the mining machines is expected to help Iris Energy fulfill its goal of increasing its self-mining capacity to 10 EH/s (exahash per second).
Acquisition to Improve Overall Fleet Efficiency
The Australian Bitcoin mining company Iris Energy Limited announced on Dec. 15 that it is set to acquire .3 million worth of 8,380 new-generation T21 miners from Bitmain Technologies Delaware Limited. Once installed, the T21s, together with S21s, are expected to improve the Bitcoin miner’s “overall fleet efficiency from 29.5 J/TH to 24.8 J/TH.”
In a statement, Iris Energy said the shipment of the T21s is scheduled for the second quarter of 2024. Delivery of the mining machines is expected to help Iris Energy fulfill its goal of increasing self-mining capacity.
“The company’s 80MW data center expansion at Childress remains on track to be progressively delivered from January 2024 through to Q2 2024, supporting the increase in operating hash rate from 5.6 EH/s to 10 EH/s,” the Bitcoin miner said.
Iris Energy added that its 80MW data center expansion at Childress is on course to be “progressively” delivered starting in January 2024 through to Q2 2024. This is expected to support the increase in the operating hash rate.
According to the statement, the purchase price for the Bitcoin miners, which translates to /TH (terahash), is payable in progressive installments.
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Iris Energy Acquires 7,000 Next-Gen T21 Bitcoin Miners in Deal With Bitmain
The Australia-based and Nasdaq-listed Iris Energy recently announced the acquisition of 1.3 exahash per second (EH/s) capacity in Bitmain’s latest Antminer T21 models. This purchase boosts Iris Energy’s proprietary mining capacity to a notable 8.3 EH/s.
Iris Energy Secures 1.3 EH/s in Latest Bitmain Deal
Iris Energy (Nasdaq: IREN) announced on Thursday its procurement of 7,000 next-generation T21 bitcoin (BTC) miners from Bitmain Technologies. The deal, amounting to roughly .6 million, translates to a cost of per terahash. Bitmain has agreed to postpone 20% of this sum until May 30, 2024, while Iris Energy plans to settle the balance through structured payments.
At the end of October, Bitmain introduced the T21 series, an air-cooled unit boasting up to 190 terahash per second (TH/s) capacity and a 19 joules per terahash (J/T) efficiency rating. Iris Energy highlighted that these T21 units’ enhanced efficiency ratio will elevate their entire fleet’s performance from 29.5 J/TH to 25.8 J/TH.
Concurrently, Iris is advancing an 80 megawatt (MW) expansion at its Childress facility, targeting a 10 EH/s capacity by the second quarter of 2024. “Early works and procurement for the next 100MW of data centers at Childress have commenced, with 600MW of total power available on site,” Iris disclosed on Thursday.
The latest move by Iris follows a trend of major firms securing thousands of mining rigs from Bitmain and Microbt. Earlier in the month, Hive Digital purchased 4,800 Bitmain S19k bitcoin miners, and Cleanspark obtained 4.4 EH/s capacity in Bitmain’s new S21 model Antminers. Moreover, Northern Data’s subsidiary, Peak Mining, has acquired equipment from Bitmain’s competitor, Microbt.
In a related move mid-October, Iris invested .6 million in Bitmain’s S21 Antminers. Following Thursday’s announcement, Iris’ stock saw an approximate 6% rise, with a 43% increase over the past 30 days. Year-to-date, IREN shares have soared by over 293%, as per data from Tradingview.
What are your thoughts on this story? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Iris Energy Boosts Mining Capacity With $19.6M Acquisition of Bitmain’s S21 Antminers
The Nasdaq-listed bitcoin mining company Iris Energy has announced its acquisition of 1.4 exahash per second (EH/s) of Bitmain’s latest S21 Antminers. This acquisition will increase the company’s self-mining capacity by 25%, from 5.6 EH/s to 7 EH/s.
Nasdaq-Listed Iris Energy Bolsters Mining Arsenal with Latest Next-Gen Mining Rig Purchase
Just over two weeks ago, Bitmain introduced its S21 series Antminers, boasting an efficiency rating of less than 20 joules per terahash (J/T). Following this, the publicly traded bitcoin mining company Iris Energy, traded on Nasdaq under the ticker IREN, confirmed its purchase of 1.4 EH/s of Bitmain’s S21 miners.
The company revealed that this acquisition came with a price tag of .6 million, breaking down to per terahash. An additional .9 million will be deferred and paid one year post-shipment. The S21 units will be stationed at the company’s Childress, Texas, location, as detailed in their announcement. This new addition will elevate their self-mining capacity from 5.6 EH/s to 7 EH/s, marking a 25% increase.
Although Iris didn’t specify the exact model of the S21 Antminers they bought, they mentioned the machines’ efficiency at 17.5 J/TH. This suggests they opted for the air-cooled variant. Given these machines’ capability of 200 terahash per second and the total purchase volume of 1.4 EH/s, it’s probable that Iris acquired around 7,000 units. The company, now operating at 7 EH/s, anticipates a near-future surge to 9.4 EH/s. This is a bump up from their earlier projection of 9.1 EH/s.
The Childress data center is currently undergoing an expansion to accommodate 80 megawatts. Iris anticipates the delivery to be completed in early 2024. Iris’ decision to acquire Bitmain’s advanced miners comes as rivals like Canaan and Microbt unveil their next-generation machines. Additionally, several mining firms are gravitating toward newer models that offer peak hashrate and efficiency.
For example, Peak Mining recently inked a 0 million deal with Microbt. Peak, a branch of the Northern Data Group, will obtain 7 EH/s from Microbt’s Whatsminer M53S+, M53S++, M50S+ and M50S++ models. Canaan has also showcased its new liquid-cooled A1466I machine, capable of 170 terahash per second with an efficiency rating of 19.5 J/T. Microbt is gearing up for the release of its M60 machine, which offers less than 20 joules per terahash, set to launch on October 24.
Iris says its mining operations use 100% renewable energy, and the company plans to increase its capacity to 30 EH/s over time. So far this year, Iris shares have risen 150%. However, the IREN shares have fallen 27% in the past month. The decline in IREN’s stock followed a broader downturn in the cryptocurrency market on Monday, influenced by tensions in the Middle East affecting markets.
What do you think about Iris purchasing .6 million worth of Bitmain’s new S21 Antminers? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Bitcoin Miner Iris Energy Dives into Generative AI, Investing $10M in Nvidia GPUs Amidst Soaring Demand
On August 29, the publicly traded bitcoin mining entity, Iris Energy, revealed its acquisition of 248 Nvidia H100 graphics processing units (GPUs) at a cost of million. While the company emphasized that its primary focus remains on BTC mining, it views generative artificial intelligence (AI) as an enticing “additional opportunity.”
From Bitcoin Mining ASICs to Nvidia GPUs — Iris Energy Expands to Offer AI Services
As generative AI gained momentum in the early 2020s, tech giants such as Microsoft, Google and Baidu ramped up their investments. However, by 2023, the technology saw an even more pronounced surge.
Generative AI involves artificial intelligence (AI) systems that create new content — be it text, images or video — grounded in their training data. Openai’s Chatgpt, Anthropic’s Claude, along with art platforms like Midjourney, pushed the technology further.
These platforms can comprehend and respond to a vast array of text inputs, from simple queries to complex requests. Drawing a parallel to cryptocurrency mining, these AI models encompass billions of parameters, all needing training on expansive datasets.
The enormity of training these models demands computational power that CPUs can’t handle. Therefore, GPUs step in, parallelizing computations to provide the necessary throughput for large language models (LLMs).
On Tuesday, Iris Energy, listed on Nasdaq as IREN, shared that their bitcoin mining efforts will now also channel computational power toward generative AI. Iris shared that it snapped up 248 Nvidia H100 GPUs for million, eyeing a strategic entry into the burgeoning industry.
“Leveraging our next-generation data centers into generative AI is an exciting opportunity, particularly given current industry shortages in rack space and compute,” Daniel Roberts, the co-founder and co-CEO of Iris Energy stated.
Roberts added:
We believe demand for sustainable computing is unlikely to go away, and feel we are uniquely positioned to capture ongoing growth in the broader industry; whether that be ASICs for bitcoin mining, or GPUs for generative AI and beyond.
Iris further mentioned its intentions to showcase its novel abilities to potential clients. This announcement comes as Nvidia H100s are reportedly selling like “hotcakes” this month. Reports have also highlighted that Nvidia is reaping an astounding 823% profit from H100 sales. While bitcoin mining continues to be their primary focus, Iris views generative AI as an “additional opportunity.”
“Having spent my career building, designing, and operating Tier 2-4 data center facilities, I believe Iris Energy is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the generative AI opportunity,” the company’s CTO, Denis Skrinnikoff stated.
What do you think about Iris Energy expanding into AI and purchasing 248 Nvidia H100s? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Worldcoin Launches World ID, an AI Resistant, Iris Dependant ID Protocol
Worldcoin, a project co-founded by Sam Altman, who is also a co-founder of artificial intelligence (AI) startup Openai, announced the launch of World ID, a digital proof of personhood ID protocol. The protocol allows for an AI-resistant verification of humanness online, using a device called the orb to scan the iris of each person for verification.
Worldcoin Launches Iris-Based World ID Humannness Verification System To Counter AI
Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency token project that was co-founded by Sam Altman, co-founder of Openai, has launched World ID, an AI-resistant protocol that will allow the verification of the identity of humans online through iris scan
The project, which mentioned this launch enables a nongovernment universal basic income (UBI) obtained through AI means and distributed via digital currencies, argues that the rise of AI models that can pass or almost pass the Turing test determines the need for more innovative protocols to determine the “humanness” of a being.
World ID, a protocol that uses zero-knowledge proofs in connection with biometric data provided by the irises of the users, is Worldcoin’s proposal to face these new challenges. Wordcoin states that the protocol will be private, self-sovereign, and decentralized, allowing users to have control over the utilization of their id data, while protecting the distribution of resources.
The protocol, which also launched its software for builders to start experimenting with it, states that it will offer its service as a “public utility,” enabling its usage by “giving ownership to individuals irrespective of nationality or background and accelerating the transition to a future that welcomes and benefits every person on the planet.”
Enter The Orb
However, due to the biometric approach of the protocol, a new hardware device had to be constructed. In partnership with Tools Of Humanity, a tech company, Worldcoin has introduced an iris-scanning device called the orb, which will be needed for the effective implementation of World ID.
The orb is an open-source hardware device designed to capture the iris of the users of the World ID protocol, which took years in the making per Worldcoin remarks. The device features two cameras, a wide-angle camera and a telephoto camera, which work in combination with a neural network to capture a high-resolution image of the Iris.
The manufacturing of the divide is already advanced, and Worldcoin is already distributing these devices to several registry operators all around the world. The project, which is currently in its beta stages, aims to launch during the first half of 2023.
What do you think about Worldcoin and its iris-enable World ID protocol? Tell us in the comment section below.
Iris Energy Boosts Self-Mining Capacity With 4.4 EH/s of New Bitmain Bitcoin Mining Rigs
Bitcoin miner, Iris Energy, announced plans to increase the company’s self-mining capacity, from 2 exahash per second (EH/s) to approximately 5.5 EH/s, after it receives 4.4 EH/s of new Antminer S19j Pro miners from Bitmain.
Iris Energy Leverages Million in Bitmain Prepayments for Latest Mining Expansion
Bitcoin mining company, Iris Energy, announced plans to increase its self-mining capacity to 5.5 exahash per second (EH/s) from 2 EH/s. The company recently unplugged 3.6 EH/s of mining rigs in November 2022 after receiving a default notice from a lender. To obtain 4.4 EH/s worth of machines, the company is utilizing approximately million in Bitmain credits.
The newly acquired S19j Pro mining rigs will be distributed among Iris Energy’s data centers in British Columbia and Texas. If the company finds it has an excess of machines, it will sell them to invest in corporate purposes and growth initiatives. Daniel Roberts, co-founder and co-CEO of Iris Energy, described the latest move as an essential juncture for the bitcoin mining firm.
“This is a significant milestone for Iris Energy. We are delighted to have been able to utilize our remaining Bitmain prepayments to acquire new miners without any additional cash outlay,” Roberts said in a statement. “In doing so, [it] not only increase[s] our self-mining capacity to 5.5 EH/s, all powered by 100% renewable energy data center infrastructure, but also fully resolve[s] our obligations under our contract with Bitmain,” Roberts added.
In 2022, bitcoin mining operations faced challenges due to a significant depreciation of BTC prices. Some operations went bankrupt during the crypto winter. However, 2023 has seen an improvement in crypto prices, although U.S. regulators have increased enforcement, which has temporarily paused the recent rise. As of Monday, February 13, 2023, BTC’s price is stable and hovering around its value prior to the FTX collapse.
What do you think the future holds for bitcoin mining companies like Iris Energy? Share your thoughts in the comments below.