Russian GPU Prices Spike, Miners Turn to International Markets for Graphics Cards

[bitkilo]

The meteoric rise in the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies during 2017 has attracted the attention of citizens across the globe. For many living in nations with low-wage labor markets, cryptocurrency mining can offer far greater profits than the average local wage.

It has been reported that many Russian miners are able to generate up to twice the average monthly wage offered in the labor market, resulting in a huge glut of demand for mining equipment locally. Local media has reported that the number of Russians engaged in cryptocurrency mining has increased by 500 – 700 percent, rendering many GPU retailers unable to meet demand. With consumers purchasing graphics cards by the hundreds, merchants have responded with price hikes of up to 80 percent.

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[Decoded]

It's hilarious. These price spikes are hitting everywhere. I have a GTX 660 and 1060 at home, the latter of which I bought not more than two months ago.

The 1060 strix, one of the more expensive 1060s, was $429, but now is selling for almost $500 at most retailers. I could probably sell it off for a bit of a profit.

My friend is also kinda angry with me, since Bitcoin/Ethereum has been the main cause of the price spikes, and he has to wait for the prices to settle before building his PC.

[mjglqw]

Excuse my ignorance since I personally don't do mining, but is the potential profit of mining still THAT good? I know the price of btc/eth is increasing, but doesn't the increasing mining difficulty have a huge effect on the potential profits from this?

[Decoded]

Excuse my ignorance since I personally don't do mining, but is the potential profit of mining still THAT good? I know the price of btc/eth is increasing, but doesn't the increasing mining difficulty have a huge effect on the potential profits from this?

It used to be barely profitable when Ethereum was around $13 for a long while. Now that the price has rapidly spiked up, the total mining power hasn't spiked up accordingly. This means that the profitability has increased significantly. Currently, its quite profitable, as long as you have the mining power for it to be stable. It's as if you were mining with the first ASIC..

Im not sure how long it will stay like this, though. Cards are constantly being sold out, and the price isn't rising as sharply anymore. Maybe it will be less profitable after time.