Will Bitcoin Prices Make It Impossible to Buy Nvidia 30 Series GPUs in 2021?

The unbelievable is happening for the second time in the short 12-year lifespan that Bitcoin has enjoyed. In 2017, the cryptocurrency rose to a seemingly insurmountable value of just under $20,000 per coin.  

After having dipped tremendously in value between 2018 and 2019, the cryptocurrency has seen a resurgence, and as of 20 January 2021, it is valued at just under $35,000. This was a spike that sceptics didn’t see coming. 

While Bitcoin punters are having a merry old time turning their investments into great wealth, video gamers and graphic artists are finding it very difficult to find top of the range graphic processing units (GPUs or graphics cards) to upgrade their systems.  

If you’re in the market to upgrade, you’ll struggle to find a Nvidia RTX 3080, 3090, or AMD Big Navi anywhere right now. This is a problem that was once faced back in 2017, as well. If you do find one, you will be shocked at the price of each unit, thanks to the escalating demand for the merchandise. 

You might find yourself asking how on earth gaming and Bitcoin investment could ever possibly be linked? Or how Bitcoin growth could spike the demand for GPUs? But the answer is quite simple. 

 Mining Demands Skyrocket 

Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and others, are mined on the web using specially designed processing rigs. These rigs are made of multiple high performing GPUs that are used to scour the net in search of hashes hidden within rare algorithms online. 

The trick to the best success in mining is to ensure that your rigs utilise the fastest GPUs for the best mining speeds. This is why there is a current shortage of the new powerful 30 series Nvidia cards. 

For a miner, the purchase price is palatable, as it is estimated that an Nvidia RTX 3090 could pay for itself in only 150 days. But for the average gamer or graphics professional, the $1,500 price tag may be a little more difficult to justify. 

 Why All the Hype? 

Bitcoin has been touted as a possible reserve currency. It sure looks to be going that way right now, as more and more investors seem to be ploughing their funds into this medium.  

We are living in a difficult time! Not only is a pandemic ravaging the globe, but political unrest is evident in the United States. This is worrying due to the role the dollar has in the international economy. 

Even Stephen Harper, a professional economist and ex-Prime Minister of Canada, has seen the potential value in Bitcoin, though he doubts it could ever supplant the dollar. He said: 

“Unless the U.S. becomes a catastrophe, it’s hard to see what the alternative is to the U.S. dollar as the world’s major reserve currency. Other than you know gold, bitcoin [and] a whole basket of things, right?” I think you’ll see that the number of things that people use as reserves will expand, but the U.S. dollar will still be the bulk of it.” 

There are conflicting views by many in the crypto realms with claims that Bitcoin could take over from the US dollar as the primary reserve currency. The potential is there, but the currency would have to make real progress in several areas, chief of which would be in its ability to become a stable store of value. 

If the cryptocurrency ever does rise to that valuation and become the major world currency, one thing is for sure - the computer trade will have to do something about increasing their supply of graphic components and find a way to make it more affordable for the man on the street.