Dorsey said in a tweet that Block, formerly known as Square,
is "officially building an open Bitcoin mining system," following
through on an idea floated publicly late last year.
We’re officially building an open bitcoin mining system ✨ https://t.co/PaNc7gXS48
— jack⚡️ (@jack) January 13, 2022
In November, Twitter co-founder Dorsey announced his
departure from the social media platform, allowing him to concentrate on his
digital payments firm as it expands into cryptocurrency.
Block changed its name from Square late last year to denote
a broader mission that includes blockchain and economic empowerment.
Hardware and software teams at Block will openly collaborate
with the cryptocurrency community outside the San Francisco-based company,
aiming to create a mining system that could be used by anyone, according to
Dorsey's tweets.
Block hardware general manager Thomas Templeton said on
Twitter that the project's aim was: "To make mining more distributed and
efficient in every way, from buying, to set up, to maintenance, to mining."
"We see it as a long-term need for a future that is
fully decentralised and permissionless."
No timeline was given for when Block's system might be
ready. Block is also working on a wallet for storing cryptocurrency, using
similar open collaboration.
"For most people, mining rigs are hard to find,"
Templeton said in a tweet.
"How can we make it so that anyone, anywhere, can
easily purchase a mining rig?"
The price of Bitcoin hit record highs in 2021 thanks to
support from traditional finance. But it slid below $40,000 on Monday, falling
to its lowest level since the end of September as the world's leading
cryptocurrency showed no end to its volatility.
Created following the 2008 global financial crisis, Bitcoin
initially promoted a libertarian ideal and aspired to overthrow traditional
monetary and financial institutions such as central banks.
In more recent times, climate change watchers have shone a
spotlight on the huge amount of electricity used to power computers required to
unearth new Bitcoin tokens.