Block, formerly known as payments company Square, is going ahead with its plan to build an open-source bitcoin mining system, according to a Tweet from Thomas Templeton, Block’s general manager for hardware.

In October we announced that we’re considering building a bitcoin mining system, out in the open & alongside the community, and we’ve decided…we’re doing it! We thought we’d share some more details on how our initial discussions are going and where we’re headed next. https://t.co/wURxEKBpJ5

— Thomas Templeton (@TempletonThomas) January 13, 2022“We want to make mining more distributed and efficient in every way, from buying, to set up, to maintenance, to mining,” Templeton tweeted.He also tweeted the company is open to making new ASICs (specialized bitcoin mining computers), and has started evaluating various IP blocks, open-source miner firmware, and other system software offerings.Block has started hiring to build out a core engineering team.Previously, Block CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted on Oct. 15 that the company was planning to build a mining system based on custom silicon and open source for individuals and businesses worldwide.Dorsey has been an enthusiastic supporter of bitcoin, believing that the cryptocurrency has great potential.