Technical solutions are described for storing weight in a crosspoint device of a resistive processing unit (RPU) array. An example method includes setting a state of each single bit counter from a set of single bit counters in the crosspoint device, the states of the single bit counters representing the weight to be stored at the crosspoint device. The method further includes adjusting electrical conductance of a resistor device of the crosspoint device. The resistor device includes a set of resistive circuits, each resistive circuit associated with a respective single bit counter from the set of single bit counters, the electrical conductance adjusted by activating or deactivating each resistive circuit according to a state of the associated single bit counter.