Canaan Creative, the world's second-largest manufacturer of cryptocurrency mining hardware, unveiled a new flagship mining rig—the Avalonminer A911—at a mining summit in Chengdu. Alongside the miner, the company disclosed plans to develop a 5nm mining chip, a cloud-computing heater, and a portable mining device called the 'Avalon Box', further integrating mining technology into everyday consumer electronics.
Flagship Avalonminer A911: 7nm Chip, 18 TH/s Hash Rate
According to Chen Feng, Sales Director at Canaan, the A911 delivers a maximum hash rate of 18 terahashes per second (TH/s) with a power consumption of 1440W, achieving an efficiency of 80W/TH. The miner is powered by Canaan's newly unveiled 7nm mining chip, which was first showcased alongside the world's first Bitcoin-mining television set, the Avalonminer Inside, at a press conference in Hangzhou on August 8.
5nm Chip Development Roadmap
Just two months after launching its 7nm chip, Canaan announced it would pursue a 5nm mining chip. This follows TSMC's June announcement of plans to begin trial production of its 5nm FinFET process technology in the second half of 2019, with mass production targeted for 2020. TSMC expects to invest $25 billion in the technology. Compared to 7nm, the 5nm node will adopt extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) for critical layers, reducing multi-patterning complexity and enabling aggressive die area scaling.
Expanding IoT Appliance Line: Mining Heater and Portable Miner
Canaan introduced two new consumer-oriented products: a cloud-computing heater that leverages mining chip heat while providing cloud hash power, and a portable mining farm called the 'Avalon Box' for flexible deployment. The company is also developing an artificial intelligence chip named Kendryte. These products aim to lower the entry barrier to mining by embedding high-performance computing into everyday appliances.
World's First Bitcoin Mining TV and Beyond
The Avalonminer Inside television, which integrates a 7nm mining chip, was the first of its kind and allowed users to mine Bitcoin while watching TV. The A911 and the new heating/home devices continue Canaan's strategy of merging mining with home electronics, potentially democratizing access to cryptocurrency mining.
As the second-largest mining hardware manufacturer, Canaan is positioning itself at the forefront of innovation through advanced chip development and product diversification. With the 5nm chip and home mining appliances on the horizon, the mining industry may see a significant shift towards consumer integration.