What Happened: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD may be looking to release its own cryptocurrency mining-specific GPUs, according to reports.
AMD’s GPUs were originally manufactured exclusively for Apple Inc AAPL, but a recent announcement from the company communicating a “set of fixes” to the AMDGPU kernel driver suggests that the graphics card will be repurposed for cryptocurrency mining.
Specifically, the GPU no longer supports Video Core Next (VCN) which renders it effectively useless for gamers but an ideal option for cryptocurrency miners.
AMD’s move comes after NVIDIA Corporation NVDA announced their CMP cards, exclusively meant for cryptocurrency mining.
The NVIDIA CMP cards are Cryptocurrency Mining Processor cards that will be a line of hardware focused on professional mining, with an emphasis on Ethereum.
See also: Best Cryptocurrency Apps
Why It Matters: Bitcoin and Ethereum mining is a massive industry, with miners on both the blockchains each recording daily revenues of over $50 million a day.
Mining companies like Marathon Digital Holdings Inc MARA and Riot Blockchain Inc RIOT have seen their share price rally by over 1000% in the past six months that followed the surge in cryptocurrency prices.
The attractive fees to be earned in cryptocurrency mining operations have made the business a lucrative investment for many companies that have been focused on moving into the space.
On March 8, Norway-based oil and gas giant Aker AKAAF announced it would set up its own Bitcoin mining unit.
The company would set up a unit called Seetee for its mining operations and will reportedly place all of Seetee’s liquid assets in Bitcoin.
In a letter to the company’s shareholders, Aker CEO Oeyvind Eriksen stated, “To get long-term exposure to bitcoin, the ability to increase that with mining, and the chance to create new companies with some of the brightest minds in the world, is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It would be insane not to do it.”
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