MicroBT, a Shenzhen-based crypto mining chip manufacturer, is about to release its latest bitcoin mining model, M30S, which is allegedly superior over Bitmain’s S17 Pro in power consumption, according to Wu Gang, a shareholder of MicroBT.

Wu Gang, CEO of crypto wallet Bixin and a shareholder of MicroBT, posted on WeChat that Whatsminer was about to launch M30S which delivers 81 tera hashes per second (TH/s) with an outstanding power consumption at 38 watts per tera hash.

If the specs turn out to be true, the upcoming M30S will be more efficient than Bitmain’s most recent flagship product – the Antminer S17 Pro – in terms of electricity consumption.

Wu added that M30S adopts Samsung’s 8nm chips, which immediately arouses concerns whether the company could make the delivery on time as its chip supplier Samsung could only import a limited number of EUV devices needed by its 8nm chips as a result of the Japan-South Korea Trade War.

Founded in July 2016 by Yang Zuoxing who was formerly processor design director at Bitmain and developed the Antminer S7 and S9 models, MicroBT is considered by some as the most efficient hardware manufacturer and the most competitive challenger of Bitmain in the mining market for its cutting-edge mining rigs.

In 2017, the company made its name after its M3 became a hit as its performance could compete with Antminer S9, the best-seller in the bitcoin mining industry at that time; later its M10 machine is claimed to perform 30% more efficient than Bitmain’s back-then flagship model Antminer S9 Hydro; and its M20 model, rolled out days after Antminer S17 this April, is 20% more powerful than the latter with cheaper price.

While Yang’s subtle ties with Bitmain has also got him into trouble. According to last Friday’s reports, Yang has been held by local police to assist in an open investigation over IP disputes with Bitmain.

In 2017, his former employer has already sued Yang and his company over alleged infringement of a patent that Bitmain was granted for bitcoin miner-related technology. However, Yang’s legal team successfully appealed to have the patent revoked in 2018.

It was unclear why the police had resumed investigations at this time, while the timing came on heels of the unexpected return of Bimtain’s Jihan Wu after he ousted rival cofounder Micree Zhan. If the allegation turns out to be true, Yang could face between three and seven years in prison, according to local lawyers.

People who have an acquaintance with Yang told 8btc that he is nice and loyal. But some said his technological leap is simply a copycat of Bitmain who paid little attention to security precautions in the early years. It was rumored that Yang took away all the S9 codes after leaving his job, and even leaked the codes to other mining machine manufacturers, leading to other manufacturers quickly catching up with Bitmain.