Not only players can’t buy graphics cards, but Bitcoin miners are also facing chip shortages. Mining machines have increased their prices by 45%

On January 23, according to foreign media reports, the shortage of chips has severely affected the Bitcoin mining hardware distribution chain.

Insufficient mining machine inventory. According to the information on the Bitmain website, by August 2021, one of the major Bitcoin miners, Bitmain, has sold out its inventory. In addition to insufficient inventory, the price of Bitmain's mining machines is now at a high premium, as high as 45%.

Alex Ao, vice president of semiconductor manufacturer Innosilicon, said in an interview: “There are not enough chips to support the production of mining machines.” According to reports, only a small supply of mining machines was purchased by major mining companies in North America. In the past year, American mining giants Riot Blockchain, Bitfarms and Marathon have significantly increased their inventories by purchasing large quantities of mining machines from Bitmain and competitor MicroBT.

Chinese miners have also suffered significant blows recently, including the card freeze in 2020, which caused some miners to be unable to pay for electricity. In addition to large mining machine vendors, small mining companies are in a more difficult situation and face the danger of being eliminated by the market.

Other industries that rely on semiconductors are already beginning to feel the effects of continued shortages. For example, in the automotive industry, Ford and other automakers have announced the closure of some factories.