GMO sets out launch plan for 7nm mining chips

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Japan-based GMO Internet Group has revised its plans for launching the much-anticipated 7nm cryptocurrency mining chip, as customers gear up to be amongst the first to secure the new hardware.

The group, which is one of Japan’s leading internet companies, made the disclosures around the new chips as it published results for the first quarter of 2018, including details on their progress in developing and releasing the mining chips.

According to their report, there are two versions of the 7nm chip being developed—V1, which is the prototype of the technology, and V2 which is geared more specifically towards mass production. While V2 is still progressing through the final design stages, the firm said production was expected to begin in the final quarter of the year.

In addition to launching the chips for sale, GMO also intends to use them within its own in-house cryptocurrency mining business. However, they conceded their initial mining efforts will have to be powered by “store-bought mining computers,” ahead of testing with V1 and the implementation of V2, scheduled from October.

With the 7nm chips likely to be in high demand when they do go live, GMO suggested they would be “accepting reservation will start from Q2 onwards and launch will be Q4 onwards only at this moment.”

While there are no specific dates yet floated for either the presale or go live, the group was able to outline its intention to begin cryptocurrency mining as early as June of this year.

The developments follow on from GMO’s decision to launch their cryptocurrency business back in December 2017, which was set up to focus on three key areas of the market: mining, selling mining machines, and cloud mining.

Since then, the firm has been striving to increase capacity, with a view to boosting their hashrate from 241 PH/s in April to their target of 3000 PH/s by the end of the year.

Alongside its mining operations, GMO also runs a cryptocurrency exchange, GMO Coin, as part of their wider mission to become the dominant player in the emerging Japanese crypto space.