Prices of graphics processing units (GPUs) are starting to come back down to Earth after reports China has begun cracking down on crypto mining in the province of Sichuan.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post on Monday, prices for GPUs have fallen by as much as two-thirds on e-commerce platforms following the crackdown. While the development is tentative for miners, gamers, who have long been locked out of buying the newest cards due to global supply shortages, are rejoicing.
On Friday, the Sichuan branch of the National Development and Reform Commission and the Sichuan Energy Bureau issued a decree to crack down on crypto mining operations. The region is particularly important as it is one of the largest hydro-based crypto mining hubs in China.
Local computer hardware sites in Australia, including Scroptec and Umart, are beginning to see GPU stocks resume back to pre-pandemic levels while prices have dropped 5%-10%.
See also: City in China’s Sichuan Province Orders Crypto Miners to Shut Down for Inspection: Reports
Throughout 2020, prices on GPUs rose to astronomical heights resulting from skyrocketing demand as people were forced to work from home as a result of COVID-19. Stocks of the cards across e-commerce sites were sold out for months at a time.
Demand for cryptocurrency and the resulting price rises also led miners to seek out the latest cards in a bid to tap into the craze. The problem has gotten so out of hand it prompted Nvidia to implement a feature known as “lite hash rate,” designed to limit the GPUs’ use for crypto mining.