A global shortage of semiconductors is being exacerbated by growing demand from cryptocurrency miners. The added demand from crypto miners is piling pressure on a chip industry that’s dealing with multiple crises, „from supply constraints to a structural shortage of high-end chips,” CW Chung, head of research at Nomura in Seoul, told the Financial Times.
Last year’s Bitcoin halving not only resulted in Bitcoin miners’ rewards being cut in half; it also pushed up the mining difficulty, a relative measure that indicates how difficult and time-consuming it is to discover new blocks on the Bitcoin network.
Coupled with a massive Bitcoin bull run, which earlier this month saw the world’s most popular cryptocurrency reach a new all-time high above $61,000, miners are looking to more efficient machines in order to stay competitive. That, in turn, is helping to drive up demand for high-end chips.
A perfect storm
Bitcoin miners aren’t the only ones who need chips–since the start of the
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