AMD has been on a roll lately, Ryzen is roaring in popularity. In other words AMD is back. One recent trend observed this quarter is the how the cryptocurrency boom has resulted in record profits for GPU makers. AMD which just released its first quarter results few weeks ago earned record profits. The company earned $81 million in profits in first quarter of 2018, compared to $19 million in losses last quarter. GPUs sold for cryptocurrency mining accounted for 10% of all profits.
The story at the House of Nvidia was no different. Nvidia announced its financial results on Thursday and they are fabulous. Profits were up by a fantastic 145% compared to last year.
The reason for this cheer is the soaring value of ether and other cryptocurrencies. Graphic cards are extremely good at mining them are therefore flying off the shelves before a gamer can say, ‘Can it play Crysis’. This has created a shortage of GPUs in the market.
Nvidia accepted the assertion that cryptocurrencies have helped improve their sales figures. “Cryptocurrency demand was again stronger than expected, but we were able to fulfill most of it with crypto-specific GPUs, which are included in our OEM business at $289 million,” said Nvidia CFO Colette Kress in Thursday’s earnings call. “As a result, we could protect the vast majority of our limited GPU supply for use by gamers.”
The well that runs dry
This feast which GPU makers are currently enjoying might be their last. Cryptocurrencies are fast losing their value. Bitcoin has recorded an enormous fall in price. This is due to a number of factors. For one, the market is stabilising. Increasing levels of regulatory and legal scrutiny is further contributing to the rapid price fall. It is possible that mining cryptocurrencies using commercial GPUs might become unprofitable for all but the biggest miners.
When that happens the market must prepare itself for a glut of graphic cards being resold at bottom prices.
While this might concern some investors, we at Aspioneer are not concerned. Most gamers are well aware of the shortages and the reasons for which they have occurred. Our analysts say that gamers are not expected to buy GPUs used for mining purposes. The most common reason cited was the stress induced on board PCBs due to strenuous mining activities.
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