Two large cryptomining companies, Hut 8 and Hive Blockchain, have redirected their mining GPU infrastructure toward High-performance computing (HPC), which includes AI workloads. The move could recoup investments on GPUs the companies originally bought for cryptocurrency mining – a market that dramatically shifted last year.
Miners bought so many PC graphics cards during past crypto booms to mine Ethereum that it drove up GPU prices, angering consumers attempting to use them for playing games. Ethereum was especially well-suited to GPU-based mining until the cryptocurrency shifted its backend late last year. The accompanying crypto winter forced miners to return or resell used GPUs, although Bitcoin has recovered somewhat.
