Nvidia’s Crypto Mining Chip Sales Continue to Fall Sharply

Chipmaker Nvidia’s (NVDA) Cryptocurrency Mining Processors (CMP) revenue fell to $24 million in its fiscal fourth quarter ending Jan. 30, a 77% decline from $105 million in the previous quarter, according to its filings.

• Nvidia announced the introduction of crypto-specific CMPs in February of last year as a way of protecting sales of its flagship GPUs for gamers.
• In the second quarter of last year, Nvidia said its CMP unit generated revenue of $266 million.
• The company noted on Wednesday that while its regular GPUs are capable of cryptocurrency mining, it has limited visibility into how much mining impacts its overall GPU demand.
• Last year, Nvidia introduced hashrate limiters for its flagship GeForce GPUs to keep more products available for gamers.
• In a recent conference hosted by a Wall Street investment bank Needham, Nvidia said that almost all of its Ampere-based products will incorporate a hashrate limiter to deter crypto miners from using those products for mining.
• Meanwhile, Nvidia’s rival Intel (INTC) launched its own crypto mining-specific chips earlier this month, noting that mining firms Argo Blockchain (ARBK) and Griid Infrastructure, as well as Jack Dorsey-led Block (SQ), will receive the chipmaker's first mining chips later this year.
• Nvidia’s fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.32, beating the consensus analyst estimate of $1.23, according to FactSet data. Its quarterly revenue of $7.64 billion also beat estimates of $7.42 billion.
• Nvidia’s shares were down about 1% in post-market trading on Wednesday.