Question are video card prices headed down yet?

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moonbogg

Lifer
Jan 8, 2011
10,635
3,095
136
I think the vast majority are aware of it but will continue to mine to the last minute. Maybe some of them are hopeful for EthereumPoW (ETHW), a proof-of-work splinter from the Ethereum Blockchain, which has plans to launch a hardfork soon after the Merge on Sept 15.


If this new ethPOW thing actually takes off, then PC gaming is tanked. Miners will always pay 2-3x what a gamer will, so the outcome would be clear.
 
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SMOGZINN

Lifer
Jun 17, 2005
14,202
4,401
136
So if crypto miners point themselves at another coin, difficulty is going to skyrocket, but the actual value of the coin either won't keep pace or will inflate as well, meaning miners will actually be taking an L on the balance sheet between energy costs to mine and price of the card vs the coins they're getting.
Crypto has always been less about investing than gambling. They might lose, but those early adaptors to the new coin just might make huge bank. The might become the next bitcoin billionaire. It does not matter how slim the chance of it is. They are playing the lottery. It is a game for people bad at math.
 

maddie

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2010
4,723
4,628
136
Cheap money is disappearing. A lot of things that appeared to make sense are going to stop. Those who benefited from it will go through all the stages of grief. It's simply human nature after all.
 
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GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
6,719
7,016
136
I think the vast majority are aware of it but will continue to mine to the last minute. Maybe some of them are hopeful for EthereumPoW (ETHW), a proof-of-work splinter from the Ethereum Blockchain, which has plans to launch a hardfork soon after the Merge on Sept 15.


-Been doing a lot of reading about other ETH forks that have come and gone (ETC for example) and it looks like they're nothing but a series of ghost chains. Situation is likely even more dire with ETHW in this crypto winter environment.

I suspect ETHW will "catch" a sizable share of miners that might have otherwise exited the game, but only for a handful of months as the chain does not become profitable and energy costs stay high. They'll still sell as they spillover from coin to coin.
 

maddogmcgee

Senior member
Apr 20, 2015
384
303
136
Crypto has always been less about investing than gambling. They might lose, but those early adaptors to the new coin just might make huge bank. The might become the next bitcoin billionaire. It does not matter how slim the chance of it is. They are playing the lottery. It is a game for people bad at math.

If bitcoin investors are bad at maths, people who play the actual lottery must be completely innumerate.
 

Mloot

Diamond Member
Aug 24, 2002
3,042
25
91
If bitcoin investors are bad at maths, people who play the actual lottery must be completely innumerate.

I am still mining with 4 cards until the merge goes through, and then I will see how the mining landscape looks after the dust settles. If it turns out to be a losing prospect, then my sons will get nice upgrades for their gaming rigs.
 

Leeea

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2020
3,599
5,340
106
The end is upon us.

I just triggered my final payout from ethermine.

I was only ever a small hobby miner. Wondering if I should just dump my Eth now that mining is done (and I am losing interest), or play the speculator game.

Thinking I am just going to dump it.


As for gpu prices, I have zero interest in buying someone else's used mining card. Should be interesting to see what happens.
 
Jul 27, 2020
15,759
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Let's hope they don't find a savior. Someone who prepared in advance for the merge and introduces a new crypto to start the madness anew. Hate idiot programmers like that. Of all the great things they could do, this is what they choose to do with their intellect.
 
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Shmee

Memory & Storage, Graphics Cards Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 13, 2008
7,382
2,419
146
ETC isn't really profitable for most people, but it is an interesting coin. As for what to mine, now that ETH is PoS, I suspect Ravencoin. I think it can be done on CPU as well. Based on the kawpow algo.
 
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Leeea

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2020
3,599
5,340
106
interesting, my Eth transaction has yet to go through. Taking a bit longer then normal.

It has been about 2 hours.


Is it wrong to hope Eth broke?
 

Shmee

Memory & Storage, Graphics Cards Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 13, 2008
7,382
2,419
146
Hmm, for Ravencoin and other kawpow coins, I am seeing an approximation of over $1 in daily revenue with a 3090. Obviously the profit will depend on electricity cost.

@Leeea yeah my ethermine payout is still pending as well. It may just be a pool delay.
 

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
21,582
10,785
136
Ethermine rugpull? Shocking.

Seriously though, nobody can handle that kind of hashpower. ETC and ETHPoW are not going to fare well. ETC never did, really. For those of you looking into ETHPoW/ETHW please beware of replay attacks.
 
Jul 27, 2020
15,759
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Something, I don't know what exactly, may happen on 17th. Card buyers may win a lot or lose a lot. Even those waiting may regret waiting and bemoan not buying earlier. This is not a prediction. Just a guess.

DISCLAIMER: no scientific basis whatsoever for the above.
 

Aapje

Golden Member
Mar 21, 2022
1,313
1,773
106
It merged. It's over. I love seeing the ETH hashrate still super high with all those miners losing money as we speak. A small consolation, but I'll take it.

As far as I know, the reported hashrate is a calculation based on the difficulty of the network and such. That calculation no longer works now that PoS is live.
 
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jpiniero

Lifer
Oct 1, 2010
14,510
5,159
136
ETC's network hashrate has jumped to 230 TH. Bit more than doubled since 2 hours ago. Most GPUs are breakeven at best at 15c/kWh but that isn't stopping people.

Ethereum was like in the mid 800s-900s TH range.
 

Shivansps

Diamond Member
Sep 11, 2013
3,835
1,514
136
Pre merge, Eth constituted more than 94% of GPU mining which by far outstripped all other coins combined in energy consumption. Pretty sure a post merge shift to other coins will tremendously increase the difficulty of these coins to a point of unprofitability. I doubt any of the current alt coins can reach the trading volume and appeal that Eth had for GPU mining that could constitute an impact on GPU pricing and inventory shortages any time soon.

Yeah but miners are moving to other coins now. As i said a few months back, overall this changes nothing, its going to be a carnage of hashrates and difficulty swings on the other coins while miners change from one crypto to the other, for a while, then things will settle down, the next "go to" coin to be mined will be know and it will be bussiness as usual.

The key here is pre-mining before that happens, this is why miners will be mining even at a loss until the dust settles down. For example ive been mining RVN with a half dead RX 570 4GB gpu for a year, the amount of coins that GPU made is way more than what i could make now even if i tried.
 
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Aapje

Golden Member
Mar 21, 2022
1,313
1,773
106
The key here is pre-mining before that happens, this is why miners will be mining even at a loss until the dust settles down.

It seems too late for that now, though. All somewhat reasonable coins should see major difficulty increases and at most a small increase in price.

The major issue is that you are not chasing actual demand for those coins, but coins which can be mined cheaply. Yet you don't earn money by mining more cheaply than others, but by selling at a higher price than what you mined for.
 

Shivansps

Diamond Member
Sep 11, 2013
3,835
1,514
136
It seems too late for that now, though. All somewhat reasonable coins should see major difficulty increases and at most a small increase in price.

The major issue is that you are not chasing actual demand for those coins, but coins which can be mined cheaply. Yet you don't earn money by mining more cheaply than others, but by selling at a higher price than what you mined for.

But it will be even worse later, right now miners are spreaded across a number of alt coins.

In the last two weeks ive been mining ERGO and ETC just to try to have something. Thats why i pulled out early. A lot of small players did that as well, the bigs ones stayed on ETH until the last second.