Many PC industry observers and consumers believe that the demand for graphics cards for cryptocurrency mining is "disappearing", and now ASUS officials have come forward to confirm this information This is undoubtedly good news for ordinary players, but on the other hand, the demand for personal computers is also shrinking rapidly, with a decline of about 10%.
ASUS CEO S.Y. Hsu made the comments on the company's first quarter earnings conference call, citing the reg. He pointed out that the decline in demand for GPU for mining was mainly due to the criticism of the cryptocurrency industry on the amount of energy consumed by mining.
Hsu may mean that Ethereum is about to shift from the current proof of work mode to proof of stake mode, which will theoretically end the requirement for high-end GPU to mine tokens. Ethereum developer Tim beiko recently confirmed that the previously scheduled switching date in June will be postponed, although he believes it is "likely" to happen in the next few months.
Hsu also warned that PC sales in the second quarter would return to the days when growth slowed before the COVID-19, and would decline by 10% on a quarterly basis. Meanwhile, component sales are expected to decline by 10% to 15%. However, the CEO is more optimistic about next year. He predicts that sales of game notebooks will rise. He says young people see it as an important part of home entertainment technology.
Another factor will undoubtedly be the collapse of the cryptocurrency market. This week, nearly $1 trillion has been erased from the cryptocurrency market. Low cryptocurrency value means less profit from mining, which in turn increases the availability of GPU and reduces the price. Graphics cards are already closer to their recommended retail prices than they have been since the crisis began, and falling mining demand is pushing down their prices further.
Another interesting part of Hsu's speech is related to the global component shortage that has long plagued the industry. "When it comes to integrated circuits, the supply is at a controllable level. Power management chips are an exception. However, the shortage of camera components and printed circuit boards has proved to be a problem, as has the congestion in US ports and the shortage of container and truck drivers," he said.
"The current situation has not deteriorated, but the constraints still exist. Therefore, whether you look at freight or air transportation, the cost is still very high. Of course, the high shipping cost is putting cost pressure on us. However, it is still at the expected and controllable level," he continued.