SEOUL — Samsung Electronics has made a chip designed to specifically mine for cryptocurrency.

The company made the disclosure in its latest earnings report, the BBC reported.

Samsung's foundry business is manufacturing an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), which is a specialized processor custom-designed to mine for cryptocurrency.

Mining refers to the solving of complex mathematical equations as a way to verify cryptocurrency transactions. People who use their computers to mine are given digital coins in exchange.
Korean media claims the company made the move as a joint venture with an unnamed Chinese distribution firm, according to TechCrunch.

Samsung already produces high-capacity memory chips for GPUs (graphics processing unit), which are used for computer graphics but are also used to mine cryptocurrency.
According to Korean paper The Bell, the tech giant began mass producing the chip earlier this month.