![Crypto Terms Glossary: What is ASIC Miner (ASIC Mining)? Crypto Terms Glossary: What is ASIC Miner (ASIC Mining)?](/img/185/70/what-is-asic-miner-asic-mining-sm.webp)
An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miner is a specialized type of computerized mining rig that is used to mine bitcoin (BTC) and other types of cryptocurrency. Originally, crypto mining rigs were designed to mine cryptocurrency using a central processing unit (CPU) on a laptop or personal computer, but eventually graphical processing unit (GPU) miners — and subsequently ASIC miners — surpassed the capabilities of this traditional model. ASIC miners are built specifically to complete the mining process much faster and efficiently than traditional computers and are quite expensive to design and manufacture.