The cryptocurrency world is going through a rough time right now. There are also other factors affecting GPU pricing, like the availability of semiconductors. While Ethereum is a massive cryptocurrency, it's not the only one that can be mined with GPUs. Soon, spikes in Ethereum price won't affect the supply of video cards, but this won't end the problems completely. Ethereum mining was indeed one of the driving forces behind the GPU shortage of the past few years. Your instinct may be to celebrate the end of inflated GPU prices. That means no more racks of GPUs burning through kilowatt-hours, which is a good thing for everyone. Ethereum developer Ben Edgington calls (Opens in a new window) this a "coordination point" for node operators, who have to update their operations to support the new model. The Merge has been delayed a few times (Opens in a new window), and it could be again, but this is a major change for the Ethereum community. That, instead of computing power, determines who gets to add a new block. After The Merge, Ethereum nodes will "mint" coins at a rate determined by how many coins a node has and how long it has held them. Burning all that energy on mining internet money doesn't sit right with many, so calls have intensified for cryptocurrencies to move to a more sustainable Proof-of-Stake algorithm, and that's just what Ethereum is doing. GPUs have become popular in mining Ethereum - the more high-hash rate GPUs you can run, the more coins you'll earn. Right now, Ethereum uses Proof-of-Work, which requires computing power. This mechanism is used to add new transactions to the blockchain and keep the machine running. Despite its ethereal nature, cryptocurrency doesn't just appear out of thin air - someone has to "mine" or "mint" it. It's taken longer to get there than anyone thought, but the new target date for "The Merge," as it's come to be known, is now slated for September 19th. Developers are in the process of switching the Ethereum blockchain from a power-hungry Proof-of-Work model to one that uses Proof-of-Stake. Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency in the world, and there are big changes on the way.
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