Proto: Redefining Bitcoin Mining Hardware
From disposable gadgets to 10-year infrastructure
Last week, Proto—the ASIC division of Jack Dorsey’s Block—unveiled Rig, a modular Bitcoin miner, alongside its fleet management software, Fleet. Unlike competitors locked into the three-year cycle of disposable hardware, Proto is betting on durability and modularity to rewrite mining economics. Instead of scrapping entire machines, miners can now treat their rigs as long-term infrastructure. The launch sent shockwaves through the industry. Let’s take a closer look.
The Core Scientific Deal
Key Specifications Proto Rig
The 3 in 2 Shoebox
Tool-Free Upgrades and Repairs in 90 Seconds
Intelligent Design Features
The Economics of Modularity
Software, Not Firmware
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The Core Scientific Deal
Proto’s August 14, 2025 launch event took place at Core Scientific’s Dalton, Georgia facility. This location was not random, Core Scientific has signed an agreement to purchase up to 15 EH/s worth of Proto hardware. This isn’t just a significant order, it’s an endorsement from one of the largest public miners in North America. This partnership highlights Proto’s focus on a scalable solution optimized for industrial deployments while still remaining accessible to smaller operators.
Key Specifications Proto Rig
Hashrate: 819 TH/s
Efficiency: 14.10 J/TH
Power: 12,000W (3 PSU configuration)
Cooling: Air-cooled by default, immersion-ready out of the box.
With a hashrate of 819 TH/s, Rig is currently the most powerful air-cooled miner on the market. In terms of hashrate density, it ranks second overall, just behind the hydro-cooled Antminer S21e XP Hyd 3U (860 TH/s).
With an efficiency of 14.1 J/TH, Rig is highly competitive—positioned just behind Bitmain’s S21 XP at 13.5 J/TH—making it the second most efficient air-cooled miner available today.
Each unit contains nine modular hashboards built with 3-nanometer chips. These boards are designed to be swapped rather than scrapped, allowing different generations to coexist within a single chassis. This means miners can upgrade hashboards without having to purchase an entirely new machine.
The unit consumes 12,000 watts in total, powered by three 4,000-watt PSUs. Each PSU connects to a single phase, and notably, none of them require fans as they are cooled by the board fans.
The 3 in 2 Shoebox
With dimensions of 390 x 290 x 500 mm, Proto’s Rig delivers the equivalent of two Antminer S21 units, offering 9.4 kW per foot. Its shoebox-style design is intentional—ensuring compatibility with existing infrastructure and eliminating the need for costly rack retrofits. Equipped with nine hashboards, the Rig effectively operates as three miners within the space of two legacy slots, delivering 1.5x more power per rack foot and setting a new standard for space efficiency.
Tool-Free Upgrades and Repairs in 90 Seconds
Usually when a fan or hashboard fails the entire unit is taken offline, hauled to a repair bench, disassembled with multiple tools, and left idle for hours or even days. In many cases repairs even require machines to be shipped to third party locations which has a significant impact on downtime.
Proto’s Rig was designed according to a component replacement philosophy, leading to upgrades and repairs completed on-rack and in under 90 seconds. This way downtime is limited and costly revenue losses prevented.
Pull-and-replace fan modules are tool-free, designed to pop out and snap back in place directly on-rack. Hashboards can be swapped or upgraded while the rest of the unit keeps hashing without removing the chassis. The control board is positioned for quick diagnostic swaps, and the modular PSU system is field-repairable.
Intelligent Design Features
Proto’s Rig is built with intelligence at its core. Dynamic diagnostics combine LED alerts with detailed error logs, making troubleshooting fast and precise. On-rack identification allows operators to pinpoint failures instantly, while predictive maintenance helps address issues before they escalate into downtime. Cooling is equally advanced, with a fanless PSU design, three-phase power balancing, and full immersion-ready compatibility.
The Economics of Modularity
Under the legacy model, miners are forced to replace entire systems every three to five years, a cycle of repetitive capital destruction. Proto breaks this pattern with modular hashboard upgrades that extend the life of the chassis well beyond ten years. The result is 15–20% savings on each upgrade cycle, with capital expenditures shifting from short-term consumables into long-term infrastructure. Instead of constant replacement, miners gain predictable, compounding returns on investment, significantly reduce e-waste by reusing most of the hardware, and achieve far more reliable CapEx planning for long-term operations.
Software, Not Firmware
In Proto’s vision, the hardware is just one layer, the interface is Fleet, their open management software. Rigs automatically boot, authenticate, and sync with Fleet, giving operators full control over entire farms from a single dashboard. Health monitoring, predictive maintenance reports, and built-in Stratum V2 replace cryptic error codes and the need for third-party firmware. With open APIs, integration into existing infrastructure is seamless. Looking ahead, Proto imagines a future where adding hashrate is as simple as plugging in power, connecting to the internet, and entering a Bitcoin address.
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