TheTechno Optimist.

Bitmain—US investigated Bitmain machines as a possible national-security risk, Bloomberg reportsAntminer S23Bitmain—Bitmain launches Antminer S23 XP Hyd at 8.9 J/TH, its first flagship below 9 J/TH, shipping from November

Bitmain

Antminer bitcoin mining machines, AntPool

CNprivateest. 2013Checked 11 Oct

The brief

Analyst view
  • Makes most of the world's bitcoin mining machines (about 82% in a 2025 Cambridge study); MicroBT and Canaan make nearly all the rest.
  • S23 line ships from 2026; the S23 XP Hyd (Aug 2026) is its first flagship under 9 joules per terahash.
  • Under US scrutiny: a DHS probe of its machines was reported in Nov 2025; Bitmain denies any remote-control risk.

Technical approach

As reported
Chips

One-job chips

Bitmain designs chips that do nothing but the SHA-256 hash Bitcoin uses, which makes them many thousands of times more efficient at it than general processors.

Efficiency

Joules per terahash

Miners compete on electricity cost, so each generation is judged by energy per trillion hashes; better chip processes and cooling lower it.

Cooling

Air, water and immersion

Each model comes in air-cooled, water-cooled (hydro) and immersion versions; liquid cooling lets chips run harder and denser.

Ecosystem

Machines, pool and hosting

Besides selling Antminers it runs the AntPool mining pool and offers hosting and financing, such as taking bitcoin as payment collateral.

Primer