The Handelot Times
GPUs and crypto mining?
What exactly is happening with this market? Is everything what it seems?
What exactly is happening with this market? Is everything what it seems?
You may remember the Handelot Times’ coverage early this year about cryptocurrency mining farms in places like China and Iceland, namely the huge warehouses and tents full of GPUs that consume lots of power for mining Bitcoin, Etherium, Litecoin, Monero, and others. Cryptocurrency farms like these are by-and-large fueling their value at this point, but did you know that the everyday internet user can also use their laptop or desktop as a mining machine? Thanks to high-powered graphics cards typically used for gaming, the average Joe can play a part in building the value of the legal tender of the future.
Nvidia and AMD are two of the world’s foremost graphics processing unit (GPU) manufacturers, both responsible for the evolution of the video game industry. These units, in turn, can also be used for mining cryptocurrencies thanks to their high hashrates. As The Handelot Times has previously explained, cryptocurrency mining is but a euphemism for the mechanics of its creation; computers with high-powered processors sole complex mathematical equations, which get increasingly complex over time and therefore require higher-powered GPUs to resolve.
In TechRadar’s round up of the six best GPUs for mining, the two firms take all the spots. However, the stances of Nvidia and AMD on mining are very different given their recent fortunes. According to ExtremeTech, Nvidia saw a boom in the entry of novice miners from 2017 into early 2018 seeking to buy GPUs for mining, resulting in their revenue soar to $289 million USD in Q1. However, Nvidia recently announced that earnings from crypto-specific GPUs amounted to just $18 million USD in the most recent quarter, down from a $100 million USD projection. Reasons behind this include the skyrocketing value of Bitcoin, currently the most recognizable digital coin, and the related diminishing returns when mining as an individual. As of now, it doesn’t make sense (or cents, if your sense of humor will allow it).
