A positive side of the new Ethereum ASIC Antminer E3

Bitmain has introduced its new Antminer E3 ASIC, a special device designed specifically for Ethereum mining - contrary to regular video chips and mining rigs composed of them which are being made with 3D graphics in mind. The new model can perform up to 180 MH/s and will appear in the shops in the second quarter this year.

In comparison, one Nvidia Tesla V100 can only reach 94 MH/s, which is the speed of solving Ethereum algorithms. This new device will undoubtedly benefit those miners who will first get their hands on it.

And this is where the fears already described by Bitnewstoday start - what if those mining whales simply reconfigure the market for their benefit? However, observers point out another side of this rapid device - with enough supply and adequate price it will be able to solve the issue of low GPU supply gamers are experiencing these days.

Technology observers also note that the move of Ethereum from the proof-of-work to proof-of-stake logic will make the current fears in the mining community much less valid in the future, although the ASIC defense hard fork is much simpler to enable.

Image courtesy of Bitmain