In a recent revelation, Hive Digital Technologies, formerly known as Hive Blockchain, has signaled a significant shift in the tech industry. The company’s decision to rebrand and drop “blockchain” from its name in July was a clear indication of its venture into the realm of artificial intelligence (AI). This move is seen as part of a broader trend among crypto miners to diversify their operations beyond just digital currency mining, especially in the wake of fluctuating cryptocurrency prices.
Blockchain and AI: The symbiotic pillars of Web3
Hive Digital Technologies CEO, Aydin Kilic, and Chairman, Frank Holmes, in a conversation with Cointelegraph, emphasized the company’s continued commitment to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining, despite the name change. They believe that the future of Web3 development lies in the harmonious coexistence of blockchain and AI. Kilic was quoted saying, “Blockchain and AI can certainly co-exist — they’re both pillars of Web3.”
Kilic further elaborated on the distinction between Web2 and Web3, suggesting that AI will play a pivotal role in enhancing the user experience of Web3. He explained, “AI allows Web3 to be more adaptive. In Web2, you have all this metadata, but you lose your privacy because all of the big Internet companies are secretly harvesting all this data for their profit. With blockchain, you have all this privacy and can own your own data. But without that metadata, how will you have a curated web experience? So that’s where the AI comes in to make it more adaptive and intuitive. It all works together.”
The CEO also highlighted the potential roles of AI in the development of Metaverses and DAOs. He believes that while Web3 is still in its infancy, the application of these technological pillars in innovative ways that gain widespread acceptance remains to be seen.
Ethereum’s lessons and Hive’s strategic decisions
Hive Digital Technologies boasts the title of being the first-ever publicly traded crypto mining company. It established its inaugural Bitcoin mining center in 2014 and went public in 2017. Holmes attributes a significant portion of the company’s agility in adopting new technologies to the invaluable lessons learned from mining both Bitcoin and Ether. He mentioned, “Our mining operations were really enhanced because of Ethereum mining. And when you’re mining Ethereum, it’s not like driving a Jeep, you’re driving a Porsche, and it’s a much more sensitive piece of machinery. You need two to on workers that you have for an ASIC.”
These insights were instrumental in guiding the company on how best to pivot and ensure they had a comprehensive understanding of both product and technical aspects to leverage emerging technologies. Instead of solely investing in mining-centric chips, Hive’s team made the strategic decision to procure chips that facilitated dual processing. This meant that the company could simultaneously mine and offer high-performance computing.
Holmes recalled their concerns about Ethereum’s transition from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake. He said, “One of the things we were concerned about was Ethereum transitioning to Proof of Stake from Proof of Work. Initially, we thought it was going to take longer, but we said, okay, we’re going to buy Nvidia chips. And we made this decision almost 18 months ago to go down the path of building out our High-Performance Center site along with it.”
Crypto remains at the forefront
Despite the company’s foray into AI and high-performance computing, crypto mining remains a core focus for Hive Digital Technologies. Kilic highlighted the company’s achievements in this domain, stating, “Our Bitcoin per exahash per month is amongst the highest in the industry. At the moment we’re at four exahash and we’re currently targeting six exahash for Bitcoin mining by the end of December this year.”
He also provided insights into the company’s operational breakdown, revealing that out of their 38,000-strong fleet of Nvidia GPUs, 500 are dedicated to AI or HPC computing. The remaining 37,500 cards are engaged in proof of work mining, utilizing a profit-switching algorithm to mine the most profitable coin each day.
Conclusion
Hive Digital Technologies’ strategic shift towards integrating AI with blockchain is a testament to the evolving landscape of the tech industry. As companies continue to explore the synergies between these two powerful technologies, the future of Web3 development looks promising. The fusion of blockchain’s security and transparency with AI’s adaptability and intelligence is set to redefine the digital frontier, offering unprecedented opportunities and challenges alike.
