Mining

In recent mining news, AMD has reported declining sales of mining hardware during the second quarter of 2018, Hut 8 has claimed to now comprise the largest bitcoin mining company in Canada by operating power following the construction of its second facility, and Chinese authorities have shut down what they have described as “illegal” mining operations taking place in the autonomous Xinjiang Uyghur region in the country’s north-west.

Also Read: Binance Prepares to Enter the South Korean Market

AMD Reports Declining GPU Sales During Q2

Major manufacturer of graphics cards (GPUs), Advanced Micro Devices (ADM), has become the latest mining chip maker to report declining sales during Q2, 2018.

It the company’s latest quarterly earnings report, AMD reports a 3% quarter-to-quarter decline in revenues generated by the company’s Computing and Graphics division. The chief executive officer of AMD, Lisa Su, also indicated that roughly 6% of the company’s revenue came from mining hardware sales during Q2 – down from 10% during Q1.

The report states: “Computing and Graphics segment revenue was $1.09 billion, up 64 percent year-over-year and down 3 percent quarter-over-quarter. Year-over-year revenue growth was driven by strong sales of Radeon products and continued growth of Ryzen products. The quarter-over-quarter decline was primarily related to lower revenue from GPU products in the blockchain market.”

Looking forward, the report anticipates further decline in GPU sales, stating: “For the third quarter of 2018, AMD expects revenue to be approximately $1.7 billion, plus or minus $50 million, an increase of approximately 7 percent year-over-year, and non-GAAP gross margin to increase to approximately 38 percent, driven by the sales growth of Ryzen and EPYC products, partially offset by lower sales of GPU products in the blockchain market.”

Hut 8 Completes Construction of Second Facility, Claims to be Largest Miner in Canada

Hut 8 Mining Corp. has announced the completion of the construction of its second bitcoin mining facility which is based in the city of Medicine Hat.

According to a press release issued by Hut 8, the new facility hosts 40 “BlockBox datacenters” at the site, representing “48 MW of operating power.” The company now claims to wield a total of “66.7 MW of fully-funded operating power.“

Andrew Kiguel, the president and chief executive officer of Hut 8, stated: “As a result of our employees’ hard work, our partners at the Bitfury Group and the cooperation from the City of Medicine Hat, our construction is complete – ahead of schedule and on budget. We are pleased to have surpassed our September 2018 completion target. With 66.7 MW of aggregate operating capacity, we believe we are the largest cryptocurrency miner in Canada and the largest publicly-traded cryptocurrency miner by operating capacity in the world. In addition, we are actively pursuing further opportunities to deliver value to our investors.”

Since beginning operation in December 2017, Hut 8 claims to have mined more than 1,900 BTC.

China Cracks Down on “Illegal” Mining in Autonomous Xinjiang Uygur Region

Chinese media have reported that the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Economic and Information Technology Commission has issued a “notice on the removal of illegal mining enterprises” which demands that mining companies in the region cease operations by the 30th of August.

The notice specifically targets “Unauthorized mining enterprises that fail to go through the formalities of industrial and commercial registration, tax registration, social security and other insurances in accordance with national laws and regulations” and “non-regulated electricity use.”

The notice adds that “the main body responsible for the […] illegal use of electricity shall be the power generation enterprise.”

When do you think that demand for mining hardware will again show growth? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, hut8mining.com

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