Nvidia is worried that cryptocurrency miners are getting ahead of PC gamers when it comes to powerful graphics cards. This is why they have released a statement urging partner retailers to prioritize the gamers instead of selling it over to these miners who are causing the price to increase in the market.
Recent events have shown that Cryptocurrency Miners for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and other virtual currencies are targeting PC gaming cards. This has caused shortages of GPUs in the market while it is being offered online at a higher price compared to its retail price.
Gamers come first
Speaking to the editors of German-based tech website Computer Base, NVIDIA spokesman Boris Böhles said that they are trying to find ways to prioritize the gamers when it comes to selling their GeForce product line. Böhles explained that they have already reached out to their partner retailers about the issue and promised to meet gamers’ demands.
“To ensure that GeForce gamers continue to have good GeForce graphics card availability in the current situation, we recommend that our trading partners make the appropriate arrangements to meet gamers’ needs as usual,” Böhles said. He added that “For NVIDIA, gamers come first.”
If the current online price is any indication, then previous tactics to prevent cryptocurrency miners were deemed ineffective.
For instance, a GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card which only costs $380 is currently being sold above $800. Previously, retailers have limited selling GPUs to two units per customer, though it seems ineffective too.
Price increase
According to the latest report from Polygon, the increase in the demand for powerful graphics cards manufactured by NVIDIA and AMD triggered an increase in terms of retail price.
The problem is that not only did it affect the high-end GPUs, but after they were sold out, cryptocurrency miners moved to mid to low-level graphics cards, causing its prices to increase as well.
With the value of Bitcoin reaching as high as $19,000 last year, the value of these graphics cards also increased. Currently, there is a downward trend in terms of the equivalent value of the cryptocurrency, with Bitcoin now only worth over $11,000.
Ethereum
Analyst Vivek Arya suggested that Ethereum has a big impact in creating the demand for GPU due to its market cap and higher mindshare. According to the data posted on CoinMarketCap.com, Ethereum’s 400 percent increase last summer contributed to the GPU shortage. Meanwhile, Bank of America Merrill Lynch listed Ethereum as one of the most popular mining platforms for graphics cards.
