How Coin Mining Has Altered the Graphics Card Market

Quarter 2 of this year saw a dramatic increase in graphics card prices as well as availability issues. This can be attributed to a surge in the cryptocurrency market as Ethereum, a newer cryptocurrency, has grown massively in popularity. For those who unaware of how mining in cryptocurrency works, here is a short summary. The computer, aided by the graphic processing unit (GPU), perform hard tasks (think difficult math equations) that when completed, rewards the user with an amount of the particular coin being mined. This helps to verify all the other transactions surrounding the specific cryptocurrency and gives it value. So essentially, graphics cards are good for completing tasks and paying out a certain amount. Now this is not the first time this has happened. In fact, the last time I was in the market for a completely new PC build in 2013, Bitcoin (The most popular cryptocurrency, which then was valued at $100 each, is now worth around $2,700 each) was skyrocketing in value, leading to insane prices and shortages. This time however, is with Ethereum, which like Bitcoin years ago, people are hoping to get a massive return on investment. Due to the increased interest in this coin, more power becomes required to get the same output. This leads to some buyers snatching up multiple cards at a time clearing out stock. So, cards are expensive and few and far between, when will things return to normal? Well it is hard to say for certain, but as mentioned before, as the coin increases in popularity the harder it will become to mine. At a certain point, beyond high end mining setups, the value is not there. Also, it is speculated that Ethereum will at some point soon be switching to a proof of stake model, which would drastically improve the situation. Also, GPU manufactures are aware of this issue and are looking to release cards dedicated to mining specifically, which may remedy the problem. So unfortunately, until wither of these things happen, cards will be pricier and hard to acquire. A silver-lining of this is that when miners moves on there will be a flood of used cards that will be cheap, allowing for some great deals to be had. So, if you are in the market for a new card, you must pay a premium or just hold steady.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency

Purchase a New ESE Themed Hat!