Nvidia CEO: GPU Production Boost Needed Because of Crypto Miners

Nvidia must produce more graphics processing units to offset demand from crypto miners, says its CEO.

AccessTimeIconMar 26, 2018 at 5:50 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 13, 2021 at 7:44 a.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Nvidia must increase its production of graphics processing units (GPUs) to address a shortage caused by cryptocurrency miners, said the company's chief executive on Monday.

The California-based company's GPUs are highly sought after by both gamers and crypto miners due to their parallel processing power – and the surge in crypto mining has made it difficult for gamers to get their hands on the products, said Jen-Hsun Huang, who is also the company's co-founder, during an interview with TechCrunch.

He noted that:

"We're sold out of many of our high-end SKUs, and so it's a real challenge keeping [graphic cards] in the marketplace for games ... we have to build a whole lot more ... We've got to come closer to the demand of the market. And right now we're not anywhere near close to that and so we're just going to have to keep running."

The demand comes – at least partly – from the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies, Huang explained.

He told TechCrunch that "at the highest level the way to think about that is because of the philosophy of cryptocurrency - which is really about taking advantage of distributed high-performance computing – there are supercomputers in the hands of almost everybody in the world so that no singular force or entity that can control the currency."

Despite the GPU shortage, crypto miners still comprise only a small portion of Nvidia's total business, Huang said in the interview.

Last month, Huang noted that "crypto ... is not going to go away" during an interview with Barron's. At the time, Nvidia announced that its revenue from cryptocurrency miners had beaten expectations, though chief financial officer Colette Kress minimized the impact miners actually had during an earnings call.

Jen-Hsun Huang image via Nvidia Taiwan / Flickr

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.