As reported by technology media The Reg,ASUSCEO S.Y. Hsu made the comments during the company’s first-quarter earnings call. He noted that the drop in demand for GPUs used for mining was largely due to criticism from the cryptocurrency industry about the amount of energy that mining consumes.
Hsu may be referring to Ethereum’s imminent shift from its current Proof of Work model to a Proof of Stake/Proof of Stake model, which would theoretically end the requirement for high-end GPUs to mine tokens. Ethereum developer Tim Beiko recently confirmed that the previously-scheduled June switchover date will be delayed, although he thinks it is “likely” to happen in the next few months.
Hsu also warned that PC sales will return to their pre-coronavirus growth slowdown days in the second quarter, falling 10% quarter-on-quarter. Meanwhile, module sales are expected to decline by 10% to 15%. The CEO, however, is more optimistic about next year, predicting a rise in sales of gaming notebooks, which he says young people see as an important part of home entertainment technology.
Another factor will undoubtedly be the collapsing cryptocurrency market. Nearly $1 trillion has been wiped from the cryptocurrency market this week, and low cryptocurrency values mean mining is less profitable, which in turn increases GPU availability and lowers prices. Graphics cards are already closer to their suggested retail prices than they have been since the crisis began, and a drop in mining demand is pushing down their prices further.
Another interesting part of Hsu’s presentation has to do with the global component shortage that has long plagued the industry. “When it comes to integrated circuits, supply is at a manageable level,” he said. “Power management chips are the exception. However, shortages of camera components and printed circuit boards have proven to be a problem, as have congestion at U.S. ports and shortages of container and truck drivers. in this way”.
He continued: “It’s not getting worse at the moment, but the constraints are still there. So whether you’re looking at freight or air freight, the cost is still high. Of course, the high shipping charges are putting cost pressure on us. But , still at expected and manageable levels.”
