Trouble is brewing at mining behemoth Bitmain after reports surfaced this week about the development of its new 7nm ASIC miners.

The ‘insider leak’ reported on Twitter by BTCKING555 said the new chips were giving a “poor yield and that TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) had limited capacity” for production of the new chips.

TSMC is the world’s largest dedicated independent semiconductor manufacturer, with its headquarters and main operations located in Taiwan.

7nm

7nm (nano meter) relates to the newest generation of semiconductor chips; these chips aim to be faster and more power efficient than current 16nm chips deployed by Bitmain in its popular Antminer S9 series.

The news must not have been positive for the Jihan Wu (Bitmain founder & CEO) as he looks to protect his self-reported “market share of more than 70%” of the cryptocurrency miner market.

He bragged at a conference last month that “if someone makes a better chip in the future, we will make a better one – Bitmain will continue to develop the best ASICs in the world”.

Last month Coin Rivet reported on Samsung’s intent to get involved in the mining sector, with ongoing foundry partnerships with Squire and Halong to build its own next-generation 10nm ASIC miners.

Bitmain is currently in the process of launching a $14 billion valuation IPO. The latest rumours adds to recent speculation about second-quarter financial losses in the $600 – $700 million range.

You can’t doubt Bitmain’s dominant position in today’s crypto sphere. However, in an industry where technology is everything and brand loyalty is a forgotten thought, how long can Bitmain retain its market share?