Graphics card prices drop - does the trend continue?
For the second time in January, graphics card prices are falling. The current cryptocurrency crash is not likely to be responsible for this. However, this could initiate a trend reversal.
The independent portal 3DCenter.org regularly tracks graphics card prices. In January, the figures have now been published for the second time. They show: The prices of the Nvidia RTX-30 series and the AMD RX-6000 series have been decreasing since the beginning of the year. Nvidia cards still cost 177 percent of the recommended retail price (RRP) on January 23. At the beginning of the year, it was still 185 percent. The drop is even greater for AMD cards; instead of 178 percent of the MSRP on January 2, they now cost 167 percent. Of course, the cards are still much more expensive than at release. Nevertheless, a change could be on the horizon.
Improvement in sight, but to what extent?
Last week, cryptocurrencies crashed. The Ethereum price, for example, slipped below 2000 US dollars. This means that the price has virtually halved since mid-November. The other major coins are also on a downward slide - albeit not as extreme as Ethereum. In retrospect, the slide is likely to have developed due to the upcoming turnaround in interest rates. This primarily affects tech stocks and cryptocurrencies. So whether the crash will have a positive effect on the price trend is questionable. In any case, it has certainly not yet had an impact on the survey of 3DCenter.org
Further, Ethereum is due to switch from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake in June. Why this is important? Once this switch is made, Ethereum will no longer be able to be mined. So all the cards that miners have acquired will become useless for Ethereum mining. Therefore, many miners are likely to either switch to other coins or give up mining.
So, from the miners' side, the situation should ease a bit by the middle of the year. However, the semiconductor crisis will probably not be over even then. After all, the cards will then no longer be bought in raw quantities by miners. As more cards become available, prices will likely continue to drop. But whether they will ever reach the MSRP is questionable. Nvidia knows this, too. The company recently raised the prices of Founders Edition cards in Europe by an average of 5.5 percent. This is despite the fact that these cards have not been available for a long time.
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