Updates from Obelisk View this email in your browser Obelisk Update #1 Hello! Whether you have preordered one or more Obelisk SC1 miners, or have simply signed up to receive emails, we are excited to give you an update on our progress.



First, we have completed version-one of the Obelisk chassis design. We want to ensure that the Obelisk looks far better than existing miners on the market – that it's something you want to flaunt, not something you want to hide. We took our design inspiration, both for the logo and chassis, from companies like Falcon Northwest and Alienware, and sci-fi movies like Star Wars. The SC1 chassis is designed to support two fans in a push-pull configuration, where air is pushed into the unit through the bottom fan and pulled through and out of the unit by the top fan. This design is very similar to existing Bitcoin miners, because it helps efficiently exchange massive amounts of heat generated by the ASICs.



The PCIe power ports will be on the back of the unit, as well as a power button, LED status indicators, ethernet port, and reset switch. You will be able to stand the unit up like an obelisk, or run it on its side like a traditional Bitcoin miner.



Besides the chassis design, the project is going well, and we are on track for delivery by June 2018. The bulk of our efforts have been focused on chip development, which is a highly complex and lengthy process that costs millions of dollars. Our team is designing a full-custom 28nm ASIC, which means the bulk of the work is done by hand. Most of the funds go directly to human hours to design, test, and verify over and over again.



We have also made progress on the electronics design, hiring a local company to work on the printed circuit boards (PCBs) and control board. This includes a method for communicating with the ASICs, UI/UX for communicating with the user, security mechanisms (like a hardware reset switch), cooling method for dealing with crazy amounts of heat, and power distribution to properly power large quantities of ASICs on a single board. Power distribution is especially tricky – it's easy to distribute power to a few chips, but standard techniques can get very costly when 20+ chips are on a single PCB.



This week we passed 2000 Obelisk sales! The cap for this first batch is at 4000 units. The presale will close in late November, and we'll have more updates with those details in the next few weeks.



And, for those who may want to run their Obelisks off-site, in data centers or colocation facilities (colos), we will be making things a lot easier. We've worked out some deals with facilities, and will be updating our site in the coming days. You'll be able to order Obelisks and send your details right to a colo, or update your existing order to instead ship to a colo. Stay tuned for more details.



Overall, things are moving at a steady pace – which is a great thing! Please let us know if you have any questions or feedback.



Best,



- Team Obelisk