Ethereum's "Merge" will end GPU mining in mid September

[Daniel Sims]

In context: Cryptocurrency miners and PC users have anticipated Ethereum's "Merge" throughout the year amidst multiple delays. Arguably one of the most significant events in cryptocurrency history, it should drastically cut Ethereum's carbon emissions and lessen demand in a GPU market already set for new hardware launches.

Earlier this month, the Ethereum Foundation announced its momentous "Merge" would finally come in mid-September. Ethereum developers have long planned to switch the cryptocurrency from its current proof-of-work model to proof-of-stake.

Under proof-of-work, Ethereum's algorithm made ordinary PC graphics cards uniquely well-suited to mining it. For the last several years, miners have bought GPUs for mining rigs instead of gaming or other workloads, inflating their prices. The pandemic supply disruptions of the previous couple of years made things worse, pushing some cards toward double their MSRP.

Furthermore, those mining rigs require massive energy investments, collectively adding a carbon footprint equivalent to a small country. Proof-of-stake doesn't require the same amount of energy or expensive hardware as proof-of-work, which the developers think will encourage further investment.

So far, the delicate transition process has followed plans the developers established in April, with a final August 10 draft rehearsal proving successful. The target date for moving the primary network to proof-of-stake is September 15, give or take a few days.

Whatever effect the Merge may have on the GPU market, prices have already been falling since May's crypto crash. However, they aren't as low as they could be, especially for Nvidia's 30 series cards. This month's GPU report shows that while Nvidia's top-end GPUs like the RTX 3090 and 3080 are significantly below MSRP, mainstream cards like the 3060 and especially the 3050 still haven't reached desirable prices. In every series, mid-range cards tend to be the most popular. Although, prices for new AMD GPUs and used GPUs, in general, are depressed across the board.

Currently, Nvidia and AMD are trying to clear stock before launching their new lineups later this year. The Merge could end GPU mining mere weeks before AMD's Radeon 7000 GPUs and Nvidia's RTX 4000 cards arrive, leading to a completely different market from late 2020 when the 30 series and AMD's Radeon 6000 series first launched.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/95720-ethereum-merge-end-gpu-mining-mid-september.html

 

[winjer]

How many times have I heard this one before....
I'll believe it, when I see it.

 

[merikafyeah]

INB4 they postpone it til next year. For... reasons.

 

[ZedRM]

This needed to happen years ago... Better late then never..

 

[godrilla]

If Nvidia and AMD wanted to lower inventory of current gen that means they have to lower production. Currently the opposite is happening well at least with the 3080 12 gig version is back on the table. Which means that the yields are so good that they are still making profits ,ride the wave and milk it one more quarter. My theory is that they want to compete with second hand market directly and it seems they are putting pressure from the top directly. They probably don't want to risk lowering production if they believe another crypto mining boom around the corner. If proof of stake actually happens it will be great for gamers not so much more share holders.

 

[Mr Majestyk]

Would have been nice if the article told us what the hell proof of stake involves.

 

[Snowy]

Would have been nice if the article told us what the hell proof of stake involves.

Proof of Work when each miner protects blockchain with mining on hardware, for example, GPU, and getting a reward for that. Proof of Stake doing the same thing but using validators instead (aka servers). It is less secure and more centralized than Proof of Work and you can't mine there, only stake (like a saving account in a bank)

But people must be absolutely delusional if they believe this is the end of mining. This is the end to the most popular one from another 20 000 different cryptocurrencies. Next will be RVN, ERGO, FLUX, ETC.

Btw, from the latest news, Google invested 1.5 Billion into crypto companies. Samsung is about to open a crypto exchange. NVIDIA and Intel have partnerships with crypto companies.

Problem not in the Crypto, problem in the market which allows buying in bulk and reselling in 3-5 times higher. And problem with chip production because c19&war. People mined crypto 5 years ago too. Did someone notice problems with the GPU market? I believe not a single soul because there was none.

 

[umbala]

Btw, from the latest news, Google invested 1.5 Billion into crypto companies. Samsung is about to open a crypto exchange. NVIDIA and Intel have partnerships with crypto companies.

All of that is meaningless. Tesla bought over a billion dollars worth of Bitcoin and sold it at ~50% loss. Not a good sign. People will try to convince you that crypto is the future because company X invested a bunch of money or resources into it.

My advice is to stay as far away as you can from crypto. It has no intrinsic value and the only way you can make money off it is by finding a bigger sucker than yourself who's willing to pay more than you did for it. Does that sound like a good investment strategy to you? I didn't think so.

 

[umbala]

Would have been nice if the article told us what the hell proof of stake involves.

This a very simplified explanation.

Proof of Work: solve a complex mathematical problem using graphics cards or specialized hardware before other people do and you get rewarded for it with "coins".

Proof of Stake: instead of mining "coins", a certain amount is distributed periodically to participants based on how many "coins" they're already holding and for how long. The more of those "coins" you have and the longer you hold them, the higher the "interest" that you get.

 

[Snowy]

All of that is meaningless. Tesla bought over a billion dollars worth of Bitcoin and sold it at ~50% loss. Not a good sign. People will try to convince you that crypto is the future because company X invested a bunch of money or resources into it.

My advice is to stay as far away as you can from crypto. It has no intrinsic value and the only way you can make money off it is by finding a bigger sucker than yourself who's willing to pay more than you did for it. Does that sound like a good investment strategy to you? I didn't think so.

Musk has said the sale of Tesla's Bitcoin holding was to maximize its cash position in a time of uncertainty.

No one convinces me and especially some company's investments. I am doing my own research and educating myself. If people would do it they would understand two things: 1st- the adoption of crypto is unavoidable 2nd- crypto solves many problems we have especially with currencies.

People who want to burn crypto are the same people who did witch hunts in the 14th century. If you think it is just currency and GPUs are printing them like a money printing machine I would recommend educating yourself asap. I am not investing I am providing hardware for the network and receiving a reward for it. For investment though - don't invest more than you are ready to lose. This is my advice to you.

 

[dthesleepless]

Problem not in the Crypto, problem in the market which allows buying in bulk and reselling in 3-5 times higher. And problem with chip production because c19&war. People mined crypto 5 years ago too. Did someone notice problems with the GPU market? I believe not a single soul because there was none.

You have a short memory.

There was a run on Radeons, nowhere to the degree of the past couple years but a pretty substantial one, which in turn led to a run on GeForces. So yes, there were problems with the GPU market. And yes, when it crashed, there was a flood of used GCN hardware on eBay.

Even better, there were ancillary problems alongside it, with a massive run on high wattage power supplies.

This last run was exacerbated by both COVID-19 and a vastly increased investment in essentially industrial mining, with AIB partners directly dealing cards on a massive scale to huge installations. But acting like this hasn't happened before is silly. It 100% did, just not to this degree.

 

[nodfor]

Despite the fact that LHR has been successfully bypassed, network hashrate is lower than it was 6 months ago for the ethereum network

This means that ethereum network has stopped absorbing new gpus for quite some time - at this point it probably "offers" up more gpus to the market as mining hardware is sold

 

[ThePlayer95]

Musk has said the sale of Tesla's Bitcoin holding was to maximize its cash position in a time of uncertainty.

No one convinces me and especially some company's investments. I am doing my own research and educating myself. If people would do it they would understand two things: 1st- the adoption of crypto is unavoidable 2nd- crypto solves many problems we have especially with currencies.

People who want to burn crypto are the same people who did witch hunts in the 14th century. If you think it is just currency and GPUs are printing them like a money printing machine I would recommend educating yourself asap. I am not investing I am providing hardware for the network and receiving a reward for it. For investment though - don't invest more than you are ready to lose. This is my advice to you.

The only problem it can solve is through transactions, and with all the holders out there to get rich, it will never take off.
There is no widespread adoption on either consumer or retailer side and the settling sytem are really slow.

So besides nefarious activities like avoiding taxes I do not see any other reason for crypto currencies, and they do a bad job at that too since volatility is high and liquidating it is a *****.

Continue being gung ho on the tech but unless there is a mass adoption and settlement periods are quick it will never take off and break all the hodlers.

 

[Nobina]

People scared by ETH going PoS have likely already sold their mining rigs. Why would they wait until everyone starts selling GPUs and prices dive down?

 

[godrilla]

Proof of Work when each miner protects blockchain with mining on hardware, for example, GPU, and getting a reward for that. Proof of Stake doing the same thing but using validators instead (aka servers). It is less secure and more centralized than Proof of Work and you can't mine there, only stake (like a saving account in a bank)

But people must be absolutely delusional if they believe this is the end of mining. This is the end to the most popular one from another 20 000 different cryptocurrencies. Next will be RVN, ERGO, FLUX, ETC.

Btw, from the latest news, Google invested 1.5 Billion into crypto companies. Samsung is about to open a crypto exchange. NVIDIA and Intel have partnerships with crypto companies.

Problem not in the Crypto, problem in the market which allows buying in bulk and reselling in 3-5 times higher. And problem with chip production because c19&war. People mined crypto 5 years ago too. Did someone notice problems with the GPU market? I believe not a single soul because there was none.

If I was an Nvidia or AMD executive this is exactly how I would sound. No problem in the gpu market last time around? Whilst gpus selling for double msrp eg. 1080tis as high as $1500. Also what happens to all those poor suckers that lost money in current bear market are they going to keep on investing after they lost it all in some instances in blink of an eye?
Let's not kid ourselves, if proof of stake actually happens there will be a significant sell off in both Ethereum and hardware from miners. Although I do believe that cryptomining will make a comeback through waves. The problem is also the misinformation that surrounds crypto currencies its definitely backed by greedy bias crypto holders most of the time. Finally as I always said in the past diversity your portfolio. Also you know people who are from 1400s?
Update if crypto currency critics are witch hunters of the 15 century then crypto currency lovers are live meme of the dog in the burning building but this time we are telling you the building is on fire and you are free to leave the building!

 

[WhoCaresAnymore]

Don't worry. The Empire will strike back. The new AMDidia Coin will be the hottest GPU mining game in town. Will require the newest cards to be efficient.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

INB4 it gets delayed for the 1794th time.

Proof of Work when each miner protects blockchain with mining on hardware, for example, GPU, and getting a reward for that. Proof of Stake doing the same thing but using validators instead (aka servers). It is less secure and more centralized than Proof of Work and you can't mine there, only stake (like a saving account in a bank)

But people must be absolutely delusional if they believe this is the end of mining. This is the end to the most popular one from another 20 000 different cryptocurrencies. Next will be RVN, ERGO, FLUX, ETC.

Btw, from the latest news, Google invested 1.5 Billion into crypto companies. Samsung is about to open a crypto exchange. NVIDIA and Intel have partnerships with crypto companies.

Problem not in the Crypto, problem in the market which allows buying in bulk and reselling in 3-5 times higher. And problem with chip production because c19&war. People mined crypto 5 years ago too. Did someone notice problems with the GPU market? I believe not a single soul because there was none.

Yeah, there were issues! Remember how the 290x launched, kicked Nvidia in the teeth,then became unobtanium and shot up to $900 for almost a year? I 'member.

 

[terzaerian]

All of that is meaningless. Tesla bought over a billion dollars worth of Bitcoin and sold it at ~50% loss. Not a good sign. People will try to convince you that crypto is the future because company X invested a bunch of money or resources into it.

My advice is to stay as far away as you can from crypto. It has no intrinsic value and the only way you can make money off it is by finding a bigger sucker than yourself who's willing to pay more than you did for it. Does that sound like a good investment strategy to you? I didn't think so.

If you got into crypto because renowned post-modern PT Barnum Elon Musk was speculating on it, then yes, you have gotten in for the wrong reasons and I am sorry for your losses.

But many across the globe are in it for far more serious reasons for far longer. Crypto is a lifeline to whistleblowers like Ed Snowden and organizations like Wikileaks, whose access to banking has been quashed by the governments and corporations that are interested in crushing them out of existence. Protesters from Iran to Canada have used it to circumvent financial censorship by their oppressive governments.

If you're fine living inside the safe circle of the oppressive government monopoly on the financial system, good for you; you clearly have little to lose and less to say regardless. But for those near or outside that fringe of that constantly shrinking circle, crypto isn't just part of a nebulous future, it is their last hope.

 

[terzaerian]

As for Ethereum itself, I understand why the developers want to be so careful with the merge - there is a whole ecosystem riding on their shoulders that they don't want to destroy in the process, which, in an age where companies like Microsoft are outsourcing QA to their customers entirely, is refreshing. There is however, a point where carefulness starts looking like recalcitrance and the Merge ran past that threshold like a year ago. Better to go in to chains like Tezos that already have liquid proof-of-stake options and a mature ecosystem up and running for years already.

 

[terzaerian]

The only problem it can solve is through transactions, and with all the holders out there to get rich, it will never take off.
There is no widespread adoption on either consumer or retailer side and the settling sytem are really slow.

So besides nefarious activities like avoiding taxes I do not see any other reason for crypto currencies, and they do a bad job at that too since volatility is high and liquidating it is a *****.

Continue being gung ho on the tech but unless there is a mass adoption and settlement periods are quick it will never take off and break all the hodlers.

If you consider clawing back some of the value you have produced from a government that is going to use the majority of it to blow up weddings with drones nefarious, well, the IRS is hiring 87,000 agents, would you like a job? Jackboots suit you.

 

[Ludak021]

$100 on this not happening again. POS was supposed to take place back in 2018, then 2019, then 2020, then I stopped following. There is HUGE money to be made from miners (commissions) and once POS starts, ETH is DEAD.

 

[BadThad]

Mining will continue for the other 50k coins out there. The cat is out of the bag, it's too late.

As far as video cards, the MSRP's are grossly inflated! The top-line cards should be no more than $800-900 MSRP.

 

[terzaerian]

Mining will continue for the other 50k coins out there. The cat is out of the bag, it's too late.

As far as video cards, the MSRP's are grossly inflated! The top-line cards should be no more than $800-900 MSRP.

I'm optimistic that some of the grosser examples of excess that we've seen, of people daisy-chaining dozens of 3090s on racks in their basement, will start to peter off, and we'll see people more sensibly either casually home-mining on their gaming rigs or going pro and buying an ASIC, kind of like how the gold rush speciated into gold-panning enthusiasts that do it to keep the tradition alive and serious mining companies.

 

[ThePlayer95]

If you consider clawing back some of the value you have produced from a government that is going to use the majority of it to blow up weddings with drones nefarious, well, the IRS is hiring 87,000 agents, would you like a job? Jackboots suit you.

Ohh come off your high horse. Such a naive comment as if all the money collected is only spent on defense alone. Everything in a country starting from basic amenities to an evironment you can work in is only because of government.

My father is in the IRS, and my family is among the top 1%ile in the country but believe me we all pay our taxes honestly because I know it will help less fortunate people in my country.

Thanks for the job but I am in cybersecurity. If I probably had ethics like you would have become a black hat.

Stealing of taxes is exactly that, stealing.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

I'm hoping that Proof of Steak leads to Proof of Potatoes and Proof of Peas. Then we can all enjoy a meal ending with Proof of Apple Pie. Good chance we might get a decent meal out of it all.