Crypto mining rig manufacturer Bitmain plans to release a new Antminer supporting the proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain network Aleo. The announcement comes after Bitmain’s recent launches of filecoin and kaspa machines and the company’s latest series of bitcoin miners.
Aleo’s L1 Blockchain to Get Bitmain Mining Support
According to a recent Bitmain post, the company intends to introduce a miner compatible with the forthcoming blockchain network Aleo. The Aleo PoW blockchain is currently in testnet mode and hasn’t fully launched. It’s a layer one (L1) blockchain that employs zero-knowledge proofs to bolster privacy while retaining programmability. Aleo uses a statically typed programming language inspired by Rust named Leo.
“To support the prosperity of the Aleo ecosystem, Bitmain plans to launch the Aleo Antminer,” the post published by Bitmain disclosed.
The announcement from Bitmain follows several new product launches over the past few months. In late July, the company announced a filecoin (FIL) mining rig. The subsequent month saw the shipment of Bitmain’s kaspa (KAS) mining machines. Shortly after announcing the Kaspa mining rig, Bitmain revealed an August release of a monero (XMR) mining rig. More recently, Bitmain launched two next-generation bitcoin (BTC) miners from the S21 series.
A report two weeks ago suggested that Bitmain has faced financial challenges and reportedly struggled to pay its staff. Following that report, however, Bitmain secured two contracts with two mining operations based in the U.S. The company sold a combined 5.8 exahash per second (EH/s) of its new S21 Antminers to Iris Energy and Cleanspark.
Aleo has garnered significant attention, much like other venture capital-backed layer 1 blockchains such as Solana, Aptos, and NEAR did prior to their debuts. In April 2021, Aleo’s team secured $28 million in a Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
In February 2022, Aleo’s Series B funding reached $200 million, elevating the project beyond unicorn status. Softbank Vision Fund 2 and Kora Management LP jointly led the round, with participation from a16z, Tiger Global, Sea Capital, Slow Ventures, and Samsung Next.
What do you think about Bitmain’s latest announcement about an upcoming miner that supports the Aleo network? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
