Since 2015, cryptocurrency miners have purchased $14 billion worth of graphics cards, reports Bloomberg. This activity exploded in 2020, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, which also corresponds to the start of the shortage of components. However, this enthusiasm has since subsided, while prices are gradually returning to normal.
This is an unprecedented situation that has affected all PC gamers in 2020. For the first time, almost all graphics cards, whether from Nvidia or AMD, were displaying out of stock or, failing that, at exorbitant prices on resale sites between individuals. While the shortage of components has a lot to do with it, cryptocurrency miners have also been a major reason for this confusing situation.
Indeed, the latter quickly increased prices exponentially by grabbing the smallest stock of GPUs, at the same time attracting the wrath of players. While it is easy today to understand the impact of cryptocurrencies on the market as a whole, our colleagues at Bloomberg wanted to precisely measure the extent of the phenomenon. According to their calculations, the miners bought the equivalent of $15 billion graphics cards since 2015.
Related: Miners Buying Less Graphics Cards, Back to Normal Soon?
Cryptocurrency miners, a market in their own right for graphics card manufacturers
That is approximately 14.2 billion euros, a sum that has, unsurprisingly, skyrocketed from July 2020, when the shortage was at its highest. This is also the period when Ethereum, the cryptocurrency most commonly mined by graphics cards, saw its value skyrocket. Note also that these 15 billion dollars only take into account graphics cards, and not additional accessories such as power supplies or cables.
This explains why Nvidia has always been cautious about the idea of reveal in detail its sales figures, or why AMD was formal in assuring never to sell GPUs to minors. Fortunately, things have since improved greatly. The cryptocurrency crash had a monumental impact on sales of graphics cards, which are now seeing their prices drop inexorably.
Source : Bloomberg
