A record-breaking fortnight for Bitcoin seems to have been a boon for GPU manufacturers as we enter a new week.
Rivals Nvidia and AMD have had differing successes on the stock market in recent months, with the former enjoying far more success.
A $2,000 rise in value for Bitcoin in as many weeks has seen Nvidia enjoy a two percent increase in their share price.
Mining up a storm
As the likes of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and their many competitors increase in value, more and more people are looking to get into mining.
For the hobby miner, the easiest way to get into mining is buying and installing a fairly powerful graphics card.
For the more serious miner/businessman, investing in the likes of an Asic miner from Bitmain is a better option. But the layman will almost always buy a conventional GPU - to the benefit of Nvidia and AMD.
Blockchain changes for Ethereum
Another driving factor is the recently announced upgrade to Ethereum’s Blockchain. Co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined plans to address shortcomings, and scalability is high on the list.
These changes all require workers - so the need for GPUs is only bound to increase which will be a boon to both Nvidia and AMD in the next few years.
Speaking to Nasdaq, RBC Capital’s Mitch Steves says ongoing development to Blockchain technology will positively affect investor sentiment in the sector.
“This is a multi-faceted question; however, we think investors are beginning to realize the value that cryptocurrencies offer. The "cat is out of the bag" so to speak and we wouldn't be surprised to see more and more institutional money and high net worth individuals invest in the rapidly growing space (now a $300B+ market on a fully diluted basis). The lightning network for Bitcoin has made significant progress, the software development team is working on ring signatures for confidential transactions and the Metropolis update for Ethereum was seen as a confidence booster as well. Overall, the technology is progressing at a rapid rate combined with more institutional interest which is likely driving the prices up.”
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