Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer Avalon, the company that produced the world’s first consumer ASIC miner, made a dramatic return to the market in November 2015 with the launch of its new A3218 mining chip and the Avalon6 miner. The announcement, paired with a global distribution partnership with BlockC, signaled renewed competition in an industry increasingly dominated by Bitmain.
TL;DR
- Avalon releases A3218 ASIC chip inside the new Avalon6 miner, its first major product in years
- Each Avalon6 server delivers 3.65 TH/s at 0.29 W/GH power efficiency using 80 A3218 chips
- BlockC becomes exclusive global distributor outside China, with first units arriving November 12
- Priced at $14,950 for a batch of 10 servers (36.5 TH/s), roughly 30% cheaper than Bitmain’s competing offer
- Avalon sticks with proven 28nm process node, passing on unproven 14nm technology
The A3218 Chip and Avalon6 Specifications
The new A3218 chip represents Avalon’s latest generation of mining technology, packaged into the Avalon6 miner. Each server processes 3.65 terahashes per second at a power efficiency of 0.29 watts per gigahash, composed of 80 individual A3218 chips. The system requires a minimum 12V DC power supply with 1,100 watts output.
Notably, Avalon chose to stick with its 28nm ASIC chip design rather than chase the increasingly popular 14nm process node. According to Sean Walsh, founder of BlockC, the decision was deliberate. Avalon was offered the 14nm Samsung chip months prior but declined. “The 14nm process node is very new, very slow to design and produce, very difficult, very expensive, and doesn’t currently yield efficiency gains that even come close to compensating for all this,” Walsh explained. Avalon’s position was clear: it would move to smaller process nodes only when the economics made sense.
BlockC Partnership and Pricing Advantage
The global distribution deal with BlockC represented a significant strategic shift for Avalon’s parent company, Canaan Creative. Under the agreement, BlockC became the exclusive distributor for all Avalon products and services outside of China, providing a streamlined channel for international customers.
The pricing was competitive. One petahash of processing power through BlockC and Avalon cost approximately $350,000 to $360,000, compared to Bitmain’s advertised price of roughly $380,000 per petahash. But the real advantage was delivery timing. Bitmain was not shipping miners until mid-December, a full month after BlockC’s expected ship dates. As Walsh calculated, one petahash was earning approximately $90,000 per month in gross profit at current Bitcoin prices around $338. Getting hardware online a month earlier translated to an effective savings of over 30 percent.
A Legacy in Bitcoin Mining
Avalon’s return carried historical weight in the Bitcoin community. Canaan Creative, Avalon’s parent company, was founded in 2012 by NG Zhang, Jiaxuan Li, and Xiangfu Liu. The company released the Icarus FPGA miner in early 2012, followed by the Lancelot. But Avalon’s claim to fame came in October 2012, when it began developing the first Bitcoin ASIC miner using a 110nm chip. The device launched less than a year later, fundamentally transforming Bitcoin mining from a hobbyist GPU activity into an industrial enterprise.
The company faced challenges during 2013 due to production delays and some overly optimistic public claims, but ultimately resolved the issues and refunded many customers generously in Bitcoin. Throughout its history, Avalon released five generations of ASIC chips across 110nm, 55nm, 40nm, and two 28nm designs.
A Growing Competitive Landscape
Avalon’s return to the public mining hardware market was particularly significant because several other manufacturers had begun keeping their hardware in-house rather than selling to retail customers. With fewer public options available, an additional competitor promising competitive pricing and faster delivery could spur continued development in mining chip technology.
BlockC expected the first batch of Avalon6 miners to arrive at their California datacenters by November 12, 2015. The company was selling servers in batches of 10, providing 36.5 TH/s for $14,950. With Bitcoin trading at $338.15 and mining difficulty steadily climbing toward the 2016 halving event, the economics of mining hardware were becoming an increasingly critical calculation for operators worldwide.
Why This Matters
Avalon’s return to the mining hardware market in November 2015 represented more than just a product launch. It was a reminder that competition drives innovation in Bitcoin mining, an industry that was rapidly consolidating around a few dominant players. The decision to prioritize practical economics over cutting-edge manufacturing nodes demonstrated a mature approach to product development. At a time when Bitcoin was priced at $338 and mining was becoming increasingly industrialized, the Avalon6 offered miners a viable alternative to Bitmain’s near-monopoly, helping maintain the decentralized spirit that underpinned Bitcoin’s original vision.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile, and past performance is not indicative of future results.