The plunge in the price of these assets in recent months prompted those who bet on graphics cards – used for their power and ability to perform complex calculations to increase profits in the mining of these assets – to sell them below their price in order to recover part of the investment.
Cryptocurrency miners began auctioning off their graphics cards (GPUs) en masse due to the steep drop in the value of this asset class in recent months.
For much of 2021, cryptocurrencies had a good time and reached record highs, fueling the mining process and the purchase of graphics cards, which rose in price in the face of higher demand and their stock levels faltered at times.
However, the downward trend since last November has dragged down the most popular cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, which have lost more than half of their value so far this year, according to DPA agency on Friday.
The sharp decline in cryptocurrencies thus dragged down GPUs that miners employ for their power and ability to perform complex calculations to amplify profits in the mining of these assets.
It is sold en masse mainly in China, where miners have taken advantage of cheaper electricity prices.
On Xianyu, a second-hand marketplace similar to Ebay, Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics cards are offered at 3,500 yuan (equivalent to €496.60), according to Twitter account “I_Leak_VN”
This figure contrasts with the 759 euros it costs on Nvidia’s official website, where it appears to be out of stock.
Other miners are resorting to resale via streaming to get rid of more of these GPUs, according to Baidu, the Asian powerhouse’s equivalent of Google.
The prices of these graphics cards, which in this case are Nvidia’s RTX 3060, range from €285 to €332, figures below the €439 official retail price.