Proto and Sazmining facilitate Bitcoin mining by immersion

Liquid cooling tank with submerged mining plates in a workshop (AI-generated image)
AI-generated image

Sazmining has announced the addition of Proto's immersion mining rigs to its commercial platform, allowing both individual users and corporations to directly purchase this specialized hardware with included professional storage and maintenance. This initiative significantly lowers the barrier to entry for equipment that was previously almost exclusively reserved for large-scale industrial data centers.

This strategic trade agreement seeks to decentralize access to the network's computing infrastructure. Bitcoinallowing buyers to manage their computing power in optimized facilities without having to face the technical, acoustic and thermal challenges that liquid cooling poses in the home environment.

Buy Bitcoin

Strategic alliance between Sazmining and Proto hardware

The official announcement confirms that Sazmining markets Proto's immersion mining plates through its Mining-as-a-Service platform. These boards come from the mining hardware division developed by Block, the technology corporation led by Jack Dorsey, designed to optimize heat dissipation processes and increase chip durability under demanding conditions.

Through this model, customers purchase the mining rigs outright and transfer the technical operations to specialized centers. Sazmining is responsible for rack deployment, continuous monitoring, and technical repairs at its facilities located in the United States. Meanwhile, the rewards earned from block validation are transferred directly and periodically to the buyer's designated self-custody wallet, eliminating intermediaries in the flow of generated funds and enhancing operational transparency.

This collaboration is based on an initial multi-megawatt supply contract signed between the two entities, with the explicit provision to expand operational capacity as market demand increases. The shared purpose is to mitigate the concentration of hash rate in the hands of large, publicly traded corporations and bring critical infrastructure closer to a much broader range of participants, as discussed in the coverage of the crypto sector figure.

Thermal efficiency and specifications of the plates

From a purely technical standpoint, each of the Proto boards sold offers a processing capacity of approximately 200 terahashes per second (TH/s), while maintaining an energy efficiency close to 15 joules per terahash (J/TH). These metrics position them in a highly competitive segment within the global market for semiconductors specifically designed for SHA-256 consensus algorithms.

The key difference lies in its total immersion architecture in dielectric fluids. Unlike traditional systems cooled by forced-air fans, immersion in non-conductive liquids completely eliminates mechanical wear from vibration, prevents harmful dust accumulation, and reduces stress from constant thermal shock. As a result, the silicon's lifespan is significantly extended, and the waste heat generated by the equipment can be harnessed for secondary uses.

Furthermore, operating at 15 J/TH in immersion environments provides a margin of operational sustainability against fluctuations in global electricity costs and automatic grid difficulty adjustments. Sazmining implements these systems within standardized containers that maximize coolant recirculation, achieving precise parametric control over the operating temperature of each component. These types of advancements are part of the ongoing improvements in the mining is. that seek to optimize the consumption of resources on a large scale.

Mining as a service and portfolio diversification

The business model promoted by Sazmining introduces a commission structure strictly linked to the technical performance of the devices. According to the company, its management fees depend on the machines reaching their actual production quota, aligning the financial interests of the facility operators with those of the hardware owners instead of applying fixed fees unrelated to production.

From an economic perspective, managed mining is presented as a complementary way to manage exposure within the digital ecosystem through temporal diversification. Instead of making a one-off purchase on the market at the prevailing price on a specific day, the acquirer amortizes the operating cost over the years of the board's useful life, mitigating the impact of immediate price volatility.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Wyoming, Sazmining manages data centers powered by renewable energy sources in the United States, Norway, and Paraguay. The company states that its data center fleet exceeds the average carbon-free energy used by the global grid by more than 20 percentage points, a relevant factor in the context of environmental compliance and emerging international standards, which are frequently analyzed in [the relevant section/report/etc.]. Bit2Me News.

Jack Dorsey and Block's vision for open infrastructure

The Proto project is not an isolated initiative within the Block conglomerate, but rather represents the industrial pillar of a broader ecosystem designed to strengthen the resilience of the decentralized payments network. For several years, Jack Dorsey has argued that decentralized technology requires not only simple payment interfaces and secure self-custody solutions, but also an open, modular, and truly accessible computing layer.

Block formally announced in early 2022 its goal of creating open-source, modular mining hardware, arguing that participating in the infrastructure should be as simple as plugging a device into a reliable power source. Historically, acquiring cutting-edge equipment relied on large, fixed-price orders placed with foreign manufacturers by giant corporations, leaving smaller operators without direct purchasing options on fair and transparent terms.

With sales open through partner platforms, the strategy aims to geographically distribute the global hash rate and prevent bottlenecks in the manufacturing, assembly, and distribution of microchips. This vision aligns with the structural need to maintain the network's resilience to centralized regulatory pressures or localized failures in individual data centers, preserving the protocol's founding principles.

FAQ

What are the requirements for purchasing Proto boards through Sazmining?

Individual and institutional users access the service by contracting the board and the management service directly on the Sazmining platform, with the company taking care of the hosting, continuous power supply and professional maintenance without requiring the client to have knowledge of physical assembly or plumbing for dielectric fluids.

Where do the rewards mined by these units go?

The rewards generated by the contracted computing power are transferred periodically, automatically, and directly to the self-custody wallet address that the buyer configures in their profile, without prior retention or custody of the funds by the facility operator.

Why is liquid immersion cooling used in this hardware?

Immersion in dielectric liquid suppresses failures caused by mechanical fans, ambient dust, and sudden thermal changes, ensuring a uniform operating temperature that prolongs chip durability at an efficient consumption rate close to 15 J/TH.

Start with Bit2Me

The addition of Proto immersion boards to Sazmining's product catalog marks a significant milestone in the decentralization of advanced hardware for the Bitcoin network. By enabling mid-sized operators and private users to access cutting-edge technology in optimized facilities, the ecosystem is moving towards a more equitable and resilient distribution of computing power, better equipped to withstand the pressures of industrial concentration.

Investing in cryptoassets is not fully regulated, may not be suitable for retail investors due to high volatility and there is a risk of losing all invested amounts.

Generative artificial intelligence tools were used to create this article.