Intel has already revealed that its Arc A380 discrete graphics card is optimized for the newest and most popular games, which is sure to please everyone except one group.
As reported by Tom’s Hardware (opens in new tab), YouTuber DJ Mines stated that they ran several popular Ethereum mining software like NiceHashMining, trex miner, lolminer, and teamreeminer, and none of them worked. It seems that the Arc A380 doesn’t support crypto-mining at all.
And considering that Ethereum lost about 70% of its value in 2022, this is another blow to the crypto-mining industry. This isn’t the only graphics cards to try to thwart cryptomining either. Nvidia introduced its Lite Hash Rate modifications to its best graphics cards which slows down the hash rate to discourage mining – though miners have successfully thwarted much of this work in the months since it’s release.
Analysis: It’s too early to judge yet
Recently there’s been worry over cryptomining making a resurgence and driving up the costs of graphics cards again, as both Bitcoin and Ethereum have slightly increased in value, though nowhere near the levels it reached at its highest value.
But that’s not a guarantee either. Though Ethereum recently received a huge boost of 20% while Bitcoin clawed back up a more modest 5%, it remains to be seen whether this resurgence will last or if these prices will continue to plummet.
And considering that the writing has been on the wall for a while now since the currency was becoming slower and more expensive. And for the benefit of both the GPU market as well as the environment itself, maybe it’s best if cryptocurrency’s decline not just continues but accelerates.
