There is an interesting debacle taking place in the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency right now. Bitmain, the world’s leading ASIC manufacturer may have some issues. More specifically, one of the company’s chip patents is on the cusp of getting revoked. If that were to happen, the world will look a lot more interesting all of a sudden.
It is safe to say Bitmain is one of the most controversial companies in Bitcoin right now. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone at this point in time. The company thrives on chaos and confusion, by the look of things. Despite some dubious decisions, the company is also the world’s leading ASIC manufacturer. Cryptocurrency miners all over the world use the company’s hardware these days. That situation may soon come to change, to say the very least.
Patent Troubles for Bitmain
More specifically, there is a review of the patent taking place right now. Yang Zuoxing, former Bitmain director of design, is trying to revoke this patent moving forward. Considering how Zuoxing has his rival company Bitewei right now, that is no big surprise whatsoever. The Chinese State Intellectual Property Office will need to review the case accordingly. If they put Zuoxing in the right, Bitmain loses one of its main hardware components.
What makes this patent so interesting is the technology associated with it. It is the part that provides higher efficiency for cryptocurrency mining chips by reducing electricity usage. This also helps the hardware to survive a lot longer compared to the competition. If Bitmain loses access to this patent, they will face a major setback. It will not bankrupt the company, but they will have their work cut out for them regardless. An interesting future lies ahead in this regard.
For now, it remains to be seen when we can expect an official decision. There is no specific timeline for discussions of this kind. A lot of Bitcoin users hope Bitmain less access to the patent in question. After all, the company’s dubious decisions will harm them in the long run. To some people, a revoked patent would be karma being served accordingly. It is never advised to wish ill on someone else, though.
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