GPU Miners Hit Secondhand Market as Ether Price Gains Taper Off

As the price of ether has declined over the past month, e-commerce websites like eBay have seen an increase in users seeking to sell graphics processing units (GPU) used in ethereum mining.

The native cryptocurrency on the ethereum blockchain, ether had recorded strong gains in 2017, rising from just under $10 on January 1, to a high of more than $400 on June 12. However, as excitement for the emerging technology cools, and the economics of the network evolve, prices have dropped, declining to a low of $133 over the last weekend.

While the price has dipped alongside cryptocurrencies, an unexpected side effect unique to ether is that the market now seems flooded with used GPUs for ethereum mining.

The search term "ethereum mining rig," for example, shows 260 entries on eBay – all of which went online after June 11 this year except three. Half were published during last week when ether price dropped below $200.

A similar case is also seen on the classified ad website Craigslist, where all 126 posts of ethereum mining GPU sales can only be found after July 11.

As a result, the development could have an impact, including stemming a rejuvenated interest from GPU manufacturers like NVIDIA and AMD, both of which saw sales and stock prices increase amidst the rally.

Still, that's not to say that manufacturers are deterred.

The Taiwan-based manufacturer Asus plans to launch two new GPUs later last month specifically for the cryptocurrency mining market, and sales results could do much to demonstrate market interest.

GPU chip image via Shutterstock