Block: programs, progress and news · The Techno Optimist

Analyst view

Proto Rig (Aug 2025) is a modular bitcoin miner: 819 TH/s, 14.1 J/TH, hashboards swap out in under 90 seconds.
Its only named big buyer, Core Scientific, paid $41.9M in Q2 2026 to cancel a ~15 EH/s chip order and pivot to AI.
In Feb 2026 Block cut staff from over 10,000 to just under 6,000, citing AI tools.

As reported

Chip

Proto designed a bitcoin hashing chip on a 3 nm process, finished in 2024, so Block does not depend on the few firms that sell mining chips.

Modular rig

The rig is a long-lived frame with swappable hashboards. Miners upgrade the boards, not the whole machine, aiming for a 10-year life.

Software

Proto Fleet, given away free and open source, monitors and power-manages whole mining sites, not just Proto hardware.

Programs

Block, one program

Updated 29 Jul 2026

Research · Proto · Pilot · Deploy · Scaling

Open · Active · Partial

Winning buyers after losing the anchor customerOpen
Core Scientific, the only large named buyer, cancelled its order to pivot to AI. Proto must find miners willing to switch from incumbent suppliers.
Competing with entrenched chip makersOpen
Established miner makers ship at huge volume and cut prices fast. A newcomer needs efficient chips and steady supply to compete.

Decentralized networks · 6

1 customer

Customer
Core Scientific (opens decrypt.co)
First Proto chip customer (2024, ~15 EH/s); paid $41.9M in Q2 2026 to cancel remaining deliveries.

Key people