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I'd argue, cryptocurrencies are the worst thing to happen to such a great concept, decentralized agreements. Consensus algorithms have shifted focus away from

I'd argue, cryptocurrencies are the worst thing to happen to such a great concept, decentralized agreements. Consensus algorithms have shifted focus away from decentralization and towards pushing cryptocurrency agendas. Shame!

fixermark 8y ago
Yeah, and they haven't been terribly great for the gaming market either, as they're consuming production of graphics card components.
- drcode 8y ago
  I find this to be such a curious argument: "The graphics card industry would be so much better off if these cryptocurrency people would stop giving AMD and Nvidia so much money!"
  - fixermark 8y ago
    You make a great point in the long run; more money flowing into graphics cards should imply more R&D and improved technology (although if there's a lack of synergy between "developments good for faster graphics" and "developments good for faster mining," I'd expect innovation to follow the money). ... in the short run, the production space hasn't ramped up to meet the demand from a new consumer sector and my graphics cards have jumped in price. ;) And (depending on how bullish you are on the notion of crypto solvers being a permanent need and not a bubble) the market may be setting up for a crash if these currencies turn out to be a flash-in-the-pan and demand evaporates overnight for solver hardware. I'm not super-convinced of that crash outcome though; it's a risk, but I'd rate it a low one.
    - drcode 8y ago
      Right, but the "short run" argument sort of sounds like saying "I hate people that wear green tshirts because they keep buying Teslas and people like me who wear red tshirts can't get one because of them!"
      - fixermark 8y ago
        "I hate Teslas because they're consuming all the lithium for their gigantic car batteries and regular folk like me who just want a humble smartphone can't afford one anymore." ;) I could change my t-shirt color, but I can't change the thing I actually want to do with the hardware or the configuration I need it in that's optimal for my use case.
  - zrobotics 8y ago
    From an AMD PR: “The cryptocurrency market is unstable and demand could change quickly. For example, China and South Korea have recently instituted restrictions on cryptocurrency trading. If we are unable to manage the risks related to a decrease in the demand for cryptocurrency mining, our GPU business could be materially adversely affected.”[1] The mining market is too unstable to bet trillions of dollars expanding fab capacity, which is why they haven't been able to increase production to match demand. So while they are currently sitting atop thrones of cash, they cannot accurately forecast demand. If either a) ethereum tanks or b) someone cracks ASIC mining for ETH & curriencies mined w/ GPUs, then all of a sudden they will see a huge drop in demand. Additionally, there would likely be a massive surge of fairly new used cards hitting the market, further dropping demand. That's a scary thought for a manufacturer, they could potentially end up sitting on large stocks of unsold inventory. [1]:https://usethebitcoin.com/amd-worried-business-cryptocurrency-miners-dont-buy-gpus/ https://usethebitcoin.com/amd-worried-business-cryptocurrenc...
    - drcode 8y ago
      That is a very well formulated rebuttal to my argument- I agree there is some truth in this.

fixermark 8y ago

Yeah, and they haven't been terribly great for the gaming market either, as they're consuming production of graphics card components.

drcode 8y ago
I find this to be such a curious argument: "The graphics card industry would be so much better off if these cryptocurrency people would stop giving AMD and Nvidia so much money!"
- fixermark 8y ago
  You make a great point in the long run; more money flowing into graphics cards should imply more R&D and improved technology (although if there's a lack of synergy between "developments good for faster graphics" and "developments good for faster mining," I'd expect innovation to follow the money). ... in the short run, the production space hasn't ramped up to meet the demand from a new consumer sector and my graphics cards have jumped in price. ;) And (depending on how bullish you are on the notion of crypto solvers being a permanent need and not a bubble) the market may be setting up for a crash if these currencies turn out to be a flash-in-the-pan and demand evaporates overnight for solver hardware. I'm not super-convinced of that crash outcome though; it's a risk, but I'd rate it a low one.
  - drcode 8y ago
    Right, but the "short run" argument sort of sounds like saying "I hate people that wear green tshirts because they keep buying Teslas and people like me who wear red tshirts can't get one because of them!"
    - fixermark 8y ago
      "I hate Teslas because they're consuming all the lithium for their gigantic car batteries and regular folk like me who just want a humble smartphone can't afford one anymore." ;) I could change my t-shirt color, but I can't change the thing I actually want to do with the hardware or the configuration I need it in that's optimal for my use case.
- zrobotics 8y ago
  From an AMD PR: “The cryptocurrency market is unstable and demand could change quickly. For example, China and South Korea have recently instituted restrictions on cryptocurrency trading. If we are unable to manage the risks related to a decrease in the demand for cryptocurrency mining, our GPU business could be materially adversely affected.”[1] The mining market is too unstable to bet trillions of dollars expanding fab capacity, which is why they haven't been able to increase production to match demand. So while they are currently sitting atop thrones of cash, they cannot accurately forecast demand. If either a) ethereum tanks or b) someone cracks ASIC mining for ETH & curriencies mined w/ GPUs, then all of a sudden they will see a huge drop in demand. Additionally, there would likely be a massive surge of fairly new used cards hitting the market, further dropping demand. That's a scary thought for a manufacturer, they could potentially end up sitting on large stocks of unsold inventory. [1]:https://usethebitcoin.com/amd-worried-business-cryptocurrency-miners-dont-buy-gpus/ https://usethebitcoin.com/amd-worried-business-cryptocurrenc...
  - drcode 8y ago
    That is a very well formulated rebuttal to my argument- I agree there is some truth in this.