ASIC

In plain words

An ASIC is a chip built for one job. Bitcoin ASICs compute SHA-256 hashes — nothing else — millions of times more efficiently than any general computer. Their arrival around 2013 ended laptop and gaming-PC mining: without purpose-built chips, the power bill beats the reward. Since then, mining has been an open arms race for better chips.

Why it matters

• Mining turned professional: security bought with real capital, not spare laptops.
• Efficiency decides survival — so miners hunt the cheapest power on earth.
• Bitcoin's math never changed. The hardware chasing it never stopped.

Not to be confused with

• ASIC miner — the whole machine: chips, boards, fans. The ASIC is the chip inside.

Go deeper

• ASIC miners
• Hashrate
• Proof of work