Payments company Block, formerly known as Square, is delving into the crypto mining industry with potential plans to create a "mining development kit."
To Mar. 7 blog mail revealed that the jack dorseyThe multinational technology company founded by the company was mulling its latest vision to advance its Bitcoin (BTC) mining ambitions. Senior product leader for mining hardware, Naoise Irwin, solicited feedback on the concept via email.
The mining development kit (MDK), if it goes ahead, will provide a "toolkit" to developers with the goal of increasing the "accessibility and openness" of bitcoin mining.
Block noted that the kit would deliver several components, including an industrial-grade Bitcoin mining "hashboard" designed to be compatible with the company's custom control board and third-party controllers like the Raspberry Pi.
In addition, there will be a custom designed controller board designed to work with the hashboard.
The firm asked what features users want to see in the proposed hardware, such as power requirements, required connections, and how much it should cost.
We are considering releasing a mining development kit (MDK) to help unlock innovation in #bitcoin mining. We would love your help and invite you to collaborate and engage with us! Send your feedback here or at mining@blocks.xyz. More details here: https://t.co/I6DuyZZ9A2
— Naoise Irwin (@naoise) March 7, 2023
There will also be open source firmware, a software API, and a web interface, "allowing developers to modify key performance parameters of the hashboard," he said.
Block requested additional feedback on the software, reference material, and supporting documentation.
"The intention behind the MDK is to provide developers with a set of tools to help unlock creativity and innovation in Bitcoin mining hardware."
The plan replicates the Bitcoin Developer Kit and Lightning Developer Kit projects developed by Block Grant Spiral.
Related: Block continues to hunt for wallet partners nearly two years later
In October 2021, Dorsey announced plans for an open source Bitcoin mining system for businesses and individuals. Those plans were confirmed in January 2022 and development started.
Irwin stated that since then, "we have been working on building a team to explore our mining hardware strategy and have begun the long process of developing our own Bitcoin mining semiconductor chips (ASICs)."
He ended the blog post by stating that there will be more updates on the mining hardware program in the coming weeks and months.
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