Latest news with #Proto
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Block Unveils Proto Rig and Proto Fleet, Marking a New Era in Bitcoin Mining
Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) today unveiled Proto Rig, a first-of-its-kind modular bitcoin mining system, and Proto Fleet, a free and open-source fleet management software. The announcement, made during an event held at Proto customer Core Scientific's facility in Dalton, GA, where Proto Rigs are mining as part of their fleet, represents a significant step toward decentralizing bitcoin mining hardware, opening access to more builders, and increasing network resiliency. These mark the first two end-to-end releases by Proto, Block's suite of bitcoin mining products and services, following its initial chip sale to Core Scientific. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: Proto Rig: Durable, repairable, upgradeable infrastructure Moving away from disposable hardware models, Proto Rig is designed to be infrastructure—a paradigm shift that solves many existing pain points for miners and signals the company's long-term commitment to the industry. Proto Rig's modular design lets operators upgrade individual hashboards without replacing entire units, transforming what has historically been a 3-5 year disposable asset into a 10-year infrastructure investment, reducing costs by 15-20% each upgrade cycle. It also allows for easy, in-place, tool-free repair, turning a process that can take hours, days, or weeks into one that takes seconds, saving miners valuable time and resources. 'Mining hardware hasn't really changed in years,' said Thomas Templeton, Hardware Lead at Block. ' Machines break often, are hard to repair, expensive and time-consuming to upgrade, and don't make the most efficient use of power or space. With Rig, we set out to change all of that–and contribute to hardware decentralization in the process.' With unmatched power density and maximum miner uptime, Proto Rig delivers 1.5 times the power per foot of rack space compared to traditional mining hardware. Designed to be compatible with modern and legacy infrastructure, Proto Rig gives mining operators the power to maximize efficiency in their existing facilities without requiring extensive retrofitting, addressing long-standing challenges in power utilization and lifecycle management. Proto Fleet: Comprehensive, open source, and free Alongside Proto Rig, Block also announced Proto Fleet, comprehensive, open-source fleet management software that brings together power-scaling, monitoring, diagnostics, and maintenance tools in a single, intuitive platform. 'Mining hasn't really caught up with advances in software more broadly,' said Templeton. ' We saw an opportunity to make mining software something modern that improves operational efficiency instead of unnecessarily complicating things.' Proto Fleet brings together many functionalities that have historically required their own, individual pieces of software to manage, helping miners streamline operations, maximize uptime, and minimize time spent troubleshooting. A big part of Proto's effort to decentralize mining, Proto Fleet will be available for anyone to use, at no cost, giving mining operators of all sizes access to powerful fleet management software. All of these advancements together—on-rack, tool-free repairability, high-quality components, swappable hashboards, and backwards compatibility—mean more uptime across install, repairs, upgrades, and ultimately the life of the machine. The reveal of both products builds on Block's long track record of building transformational technology and rounds out the company's broader commitment to bitcoin across Square, Cash App, Bitkey, and Spiral. For more information about Proto Rig and Proto Fleet, visit About Proto Proto Global, LLC, as an affiliate of Block, Inc. is Block's suite of bitcoin mining products and services. Its mission is to decentralize mining by increasing access to tools for builders, regardless of their size or location. By entering the mining hardware space, Proto is taking a key step toward that goal. Learn more at About Block Block, Inc. builds technology to increase access to the global economy. Each of our brands unlocks different aspects of the economy for more people. Square makes commerce and financial services accessible to sellers. Cash App is the easy way to spend, send, and store money. Afterpay is transforming the way customers manage their spending over time. TIDAL is a music platform that empowers artists to thrive as entrepreneurs. Bitkey is a simple self-custody wallet built for bitcoin. Proto is a suite of bitcoin mining products and services. Together, we're helping build a financial system that is open to everyone.
Business Wire
a day ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Block Unveils Proto Rig and Proto Fleet, Marking a New Era in Bitcoin Mining
DALTON, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) today unveiled Proto Rig, a first-of-its-kind modular bitcoin mining system, and Proto Fleet, a free and open-source fleet management software. The announcement, made during an event held at Proto customer Core Scientific's facility in Dalton, GA, where Proto Rigs are mining as part of their fleet, represents a significant step toward decentralizing bitcoin mining hardware, opening access to more builders, and increasing network resiliency. These mark the first two end-to-end releases by Proto, Block's suite of bitcoin mining products and services, following its initial chip sale to Core Scientific. Proto Rig: Durable, repairable, upgradeable infrastructure Moving away from disposable hardware models, Proto Rig is designed to be infrastructure—a paradigm shift that solves many existing pain points for miners and signals the company's long-term commitment to the industry. Proto Rig's modular design lets operators upgrade individual hashboards without replacing entire units, transforming what has historically been a 3-5 year disposable asset into a 10-year infrastructure investment, reducing costs by 15-20% each upgrade cycle. It also allows for easy, in-place, tool-free repair, turning a process that can take hours, days, or weeks into one that takes seconds, saving miners valuable time and resources. 'Mining hardware hasn't really changed in years,' said Thomas Templeton, Hardware Lead at Block. ' Machines break often, are hard to repair, expensive and time-consuming to upgrade, and don't make the most efficient use of power or space. With Rig, we set out to change all of that–and contribute to hardware decentralization in the process.' With unmatched power density and maximum miner uptime, Proto Rig delivers 1.5 times the power per foot of rack space compared to traditional mining hardware. Designed to be compatible with modern and legacy infrastructure, Proto Rig gives mining operators the power to maximize efficiency in their existing facilities without requiring extensive retrofitting, addressing long-standing challenges in power utilization and lifecycle management. Proto Fleet: Comprehensive, open source, and free Alongside Proto Rig, Block also announced Proto Fleet, comprehensive, open-source fleet management software that brings together power-scaling, monitoring, diagnostics, and maintenance tools in a single, intuitive platform. 'Mining hasn't really caught up with advances in software more broadly,' said Templeton. ' We saw an opportunity to make mining software something modern that improves operational efficiency instead of unnecessarily complicating things.' Proto Fleet brings together many functionalities that have historically required their own, individual pieces of software to manage, helping miners streamline operations, maximize uptime, and minimize time spent troubleshooting. A big part of Proto's effort to decentralize mining, Proto Fleet will be available for anyone to use, at no cost, giving mining operators of all sizes access to powerful fleet management software. All of these advancements together—on-rack, tool-free repairability, high-quality components, swappable hashboards, and backwards compatibility—mean more uptime across install, repairs, upgrades, and ultimately the life of the machine. The reveal of both products builds on Block's long track record of building transformational technology and rounds out the company's broader commitment to bitcoin across Square, Cash App, Bitkey, and Spiral. For more information about Proto Rig and Proto Fleet, visit About Proto Proto Global, LLC, as an affiliate of Block, Inc. is Block's suite of bitcoin mining products and services. Its mission is to decentralize mining by increasing access to tools for builders, regardless of their size or location. By entering the mining hardware space, Proto is taking a key step toward that goal. Learn more at About Block Block, Inc. builds technology to increase access to the global economy. Each of our brands unlocks different aspects of the economy for more people. Square makes commerce and financial services accessible to sellers. Cash App is the easy way to spend, send, and store money. Afterpay is transforming the way customers manage their spending over time. TIDAL is a music platform that empowers artists to thrive as entrepreneurs. Bitkey is a simple self-custody wallet built for bitcoin. Proto is a suite of bitcoin mining products and services. Together, we're helping build a financial system that is open to everyone.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jack Dorsey declares victory over China in Bitcoin mining chip race
Jack Dorsey declares victory over China in Bitcoin mining chip race originally appeared on TheStreet. Twitter co-founder and Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) boss Jack Dorsey thinks his team has outdone China in Bitcoin mining chips. Bitcoin mining is the process of using high-end computers to solve cryptographic functions, validate BTC transactions, and add blocks to the network in return for BTC rewards. Dorsey's fintech venture Block has increasingly adopted Bitcoin over the years, and its unit Proto is dedicated to Bitcoin mining. Proto, aiming to decentralize the supply of Bitcoin mining hardware and the distribution of hash rate, is expected to launch a suite of mining chips on Aug. 14. An X user wondered if Dorsey's Proto has "out engineered" China on Bitcoin mining chips, as it would turn the industry upside down. Dorsey simply responded, "we have." On Aug. 13, Block made another major announcement that it will privately raise $1.5 billion for general corporate purposes. How does Trump's China tariff policy affect Bitcoin mining? While the U.S. is the leading Bitcoin mining country in terms of hash rate, it is China that takes the lead in manufacturing mining rig equipment. The world's three largest manufacturers of Bitcoin mining machines, namely Bitmain, Canaan, and MicroBT — all of Chinese origin — build over 90% of global mining rigs. Bitcoin miners, including those based in the U.S., are highly dependent on the mining hardware supply from China. But President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff policy targeted toward China has the U.S. mining industry concerned about its prospects. This is where domestic players like Block come like Block, which recently joined the S&P 500 list, can manufacture Bitcoin mining rigs in the U.S. Co-founder and chairman Dorsey even said during the Q1 2025 earnings call, 'We're building in the United States.' Block's efforts notwithstanding, it will take a few years for the complete onshoring of the Bitcoin mining manufacturing. U.S. manufacturers of mining rigs face the dual challenge of exceeding or at least meeting China's product quality and undercutting its manufacturing costs. The onshoring process could also potentially come to a pause if the U.S. and China reach a long-term consensus on the tariff policy which doesn't put a heavy tax burden on imports of Chinese mining chips. Jack Dorsey declares victory over China in Bitcoin mining chip race first appeared on TheStreet on Aug 13, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 13, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Daily Mirror
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Chef's 'two secret steps' to make perfect scrambled eggs every time
Professional chef Frank Proto has shared his secret to making the perfect scrambled eggs, and it all comes down to two crucial steps - beating the eggs and cooking them In the UK, scrambled eggs take the crown as the top egg dish, with almost half of Britons (49 per cent) considering it their most favoured way to enjoy eggs, according to Egg Info. Though highly popular, cooking up the perfect scrambled eggs might seem daunting for some. Fear not, as esteemed chef and culinary tutor Frank Proto has divulged his tips on Epicurious' YouTube channel for achieving that ideal plate of eggs. In his instructional video, Proto explains: "We're talking glistening, silky, creamy scrambled eggs - not the dry burnt kind." READ MORE: 'I'm a fashion writer and found an unlikely retailer selling glitzy festival-ready outfits' He further elaborates on his own preference, stating: "My perfect scrambled eggs are creamy and silky, not fluffy - I don't like fluffy eggs." Wondering about Frank's recipe for success? He reveals: "Butter, timing, and a little bit of love," is what it takes. To make exceptional scrambled eggs, Frank advises focusing on two main tasks: 1. Beating the eggs properly and 2. Cooking them carefully. 1. Beating the eggs Proto begins by saying: "I have three eggs in the bowl. I'm going to whisk my eggs with a fork, it won't incorporate too much air into the eggs - this way they stay nice and silky, not fluffy." He emphasises: "I like to beat my eggs until they're just combined and then I stop. No extra air in there." 2. Cooking the eggs Moving on to the cooking stage, he notes: "So I'm going to preheat my pan and I'm using a non-stick pan. But believe it or not, if you don't preheat the pan, the eggs tend to stick." Proto advises on the art of introducing fat, reports the Express. He said: "I like to get some fat or oil in there and then cook my eggs. "My pan is nice and hot, it's over medium heat, I'm going to use a fair amount of unsalted butter - the butter gives eggs flavour and then I can control how much salt goes into them. "You can use vegetable oil instead of butter, but there's no flavour in that."
Mint
29-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Hedge Funds Return to Sohn Hong Kong After Mixed Year for Bets
(Bloomberg) -- After a tumultuous 12 months, it's no small achievement that the Sohn investment conference returns to Hong Kong on Friday with the better half of last year's picks having made money. Hedge fund managers will present their ideas at the Sohn Hong Kong Investment Leaders Conference as financial markets gyrate, with global growth and supply chains under threat and geopolitics mired in escalating tensions. It was against this unfolding backdrop that some of last year's investment ideas generated handsome returns, while others failed to pay off. Below are the winners and losers from the May 23, 2024 event. The call: Kaname Capital co-founder Toby Rodes last year argued there was room to increase shareholder value at the Japanese second-hand car listing platform. He called on its chairman to stop pursuing low-quality acquisitions including a basketball team, a hamburger chain and strawberry farms. Rodes pushed for a more independent board and a structure where the founder owns the company but doesn't control operations. The outcome: It was last year's best-performing idea. Kaname engaged with Proto's independent directors and seized on the share price decline to build up a stake that peaked at 8.5%, Rodes said. Proto's chairman decided to take it private through a management buyout. Kaname balked at the tender offer price as being too low. Following extensions to the offer deadline, Proto is on track to be privatized 59% above the closing price on the day of last year's event. The call: CloudAlpha Capital Management founding partner Chris Wang made a bullish call on the power machinery maker, saying electricity distributors and equipment makers stand to benefit from artificial intelligence developments. The South Korean company traded at a discount to global peers, he said, touting a potential 100% upside. The outcome: The stock has jumped 50% in the past 12 months. Wang credited efforts made between 2022 and 2023 to improve organizational efficiency and to strategically shift toward higher-end electric equipment. That prepared it well for the demand surge from the AI boom, leading to strong earnings growth in the past year. 'The success story of Hyundai Electric once again proves that opportunities favor those who are prepared,' Wang wrote in an email. The call: The South Korean company was trading at just three times forward earnings because the market failed to price in the value of its core subsidiary, DN Solutions Co., a leading machine tool maker. Hidden value could be unlocked through a planned initial public offering of the unit within a year, said Darren Kang, chief investment officer of Life Asset Management. The outcome: The stock surged 40% in the past year. DN Solutions' $1.1 billion IPO, billed as potentially the largest in Seoul this year, was shelved in late April, after President Donald Trump's tariff policies triggered a market selloff. Still, the aborted share sale 'brought broader attention to the group's under-valuation,' Kang said in an email. 'The upside could have been greater had the listing gone ahead as planned.' The call: Ecuador's sovereign bonds traded at large discounts to peers, said Aaron Stern, managing partner of Converium Capital. The new administration was ushering in economic changes and social reforms that he expected to unlock financing from the International Monetary Fund. The country had a lower debt-to-GDP ratio than peers. It also faced less pressure from credit maturing, thanks to debt restructuring a few years ago. The outcome: The price of the 2035 bond that Stern touted has surged around 24%. When including the semiannual 5.5% coupons, the total return is about 34% in the past year, he said in an email. The call: The provider of human resources and business support services to Japanese companies was trading at a sizable discount to peers, said Zennor Asset Management LLP founding partner David Mitchinson. It had a track record of organic growth, yet its goals weren't ambitious enough and it could benefit from a coherent capital strategy, he said. The outcome: The stock edged up 3.6% in the past year, which left Mitchinson to 'hope for rather better' in time. Government contracts it won during Covid rolled off, while tepid China growth has also been a drag in recent years. But organic growth is finally picking up again, and the company has improved disclosure and its shareholder return policy, he said. Still, it's being run with a lot of cash and more group restructuring is needed, he added. The call: Oasis Management's Seth Fischer highlighted the drugmaker as an activist opportunity in Japan, where its recalled red yeast health supplements led to scores of deaths and hospitalizations. Fischer laid out three options for Kobayashi: bolster board oversight and shareholder returns, go private, or work with Oasis to improve governance. The outcome: The stock slipped another 8.2% since last year's event. Kobayashi's move to fix governance flaws 'is still a work in progress,' said Fischer. A motion in March to appoint an independent chairman was thwarted by the founding family. Having amassed a 10% stake, Oasis filed a lawsuit in April against current and former Kobayashi directors. While it wants an independent probe into the scandal, an encouraging sign is that the management and shareholders are now aligned against the founding family, Fischer said. With legal liability mounting, he's optimistic this will have a successful conclusion. The call: Japan Catalyst Inc. President Taro Hirano saw potential to generate more value in the company, whose businesses ranged from electric-vehicle battery pouches to bottling services for Coca-Cola Co. Japan's corporate management style, with employees often staying for life and chief executives picked in-house, made firms reluctant to divest assets, Hirano said. The outcome: The stock has fallen almost 10%. Dai Nippon's intrinsic value is 'still in the process of being recognized by the market,' Hirano said in an email. Revelations in November that Elliott Investment Management had significantly cut its position less than two years after building a stake contributed to the stock price decline. The call: Palliser Capital founder James Smith urged the mining giant to consider dropping its primary listing in London and unify its corporate structure in Australia. Palliser in December publicly called on the Rio Tinto board to begin an 'independent, comprehensive and transparent' review into the matter, saying the dual listing has led to about $50 billion in value destruction for shareholders since its inception. The outcome: The stock retreated about 21% in London trading and 15% in Australia over the past year. Both still beat the 23% decline of the Bloomberg EMEA 500 Metals and Mining Index. Singapore futures on iron ore, Rio Tinto's cash cow product, have fallen 20% since last year's event as demand from China dropped. Even with the backing of key proxy advisers, Palliser failed to win enough shareholder support to force the review, which Rio Tinto said would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Still, Palliser is holding out hope that a leadership transition later this year would act as a catalyst for structural reform, parallel to events before the collapse of a dual listing for BHP Group Ltd. in 2022. The call: Tybourne Capital Management CIO Eashwar Krishnan said the stock price could more than double in three years, as the growing adoption of AI drives demand for the company's memory chips. Integrating advanced AI features on devices such as mobile phones would spur demand for DRAM memory, he said. The outcome: Krishnan didn't respond to messages seeking comment. The stock slumped 28% since last year's event, after hitting a high in July. Samsung hasn't secured certification from Nvidia Corp. for the supply of the most advanced AI chips, allowing rivals, especially SK Hynix Inc., to grab a larger share of the market for high-bandwidth memory that AI accelerators depend on. 'Industry-wise, AI is growing, but the benefit went to SK Hynix, instead of Samsung,' Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Masahiro Wakasugi said. More stories like this are available on
