Graphics card prices in China plummeted after The Merge

In China, the prices of graphics processing units (GPUs), often used for Ethereum mining, dropped dramatically after the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization switched to a consensus algorithm. Proof-of-Stake (PoS). Speaking of which writes South China Morning Post.

A local retailer said the RTX 3080 dropped from 8,000 yuan ($ 1,116 at current exchange rates) to 5,000 yuan ($ 698).

“When bitcoin mining was at its peak, people from mining companies used to go shopping with cash and take all the video cards we had. Now look at the stores. No one is buying new computers because of the coronavirus, let alone the cards. graphics, “he explained.

Another market participant noted that low-cost graphics cards like Micro-Star International’s RTX 3080 and Colorful dropped by around 1000-2000 yuan ($ 139- $ 279) in two months. This, according to the interlocutor, was influenced “by the hype around The Merge”.

“I had a customer who bought an RTX 3080 card for 9,400 yuan late last year and now he has to sell it for less than half that price,” he said.

The decline in demand was also recorded by the online platforms Taobao and JD. GPU prices have fallen by “several hundred yuan,” according to the publication.

September 15, 2022 on Ethereum Activated Update Merge, which transferred the blockchain to the PoS algorithm and reduced its energy consumption by 99%. The update also set the stage for the next phase of the network, The Surge.