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My Presents don't arrive in time for Christmas - are Bitcoin miners to blame?



Cars, smartphones, gaming: the lack of chips is affecting many industries. The Playstation 5 was launched about a year ago, but customers are still waiting for their devices to this day.


It looks the same with many Apple products like the new iPhone 13. Here, too, customers have to be prepared for higher prices and falling stocks. If you want to buy a new car, you also have to expect longer waiting times. "Depending on the make and model, the delivery time has leveled off at three to six months for a large part," says Marcus Weller , market expert at the Central Association of the German Motor Vehicle Industry .


How does the chip shortage arise?

The global shortage of microchips has two reasons : on the one hand, an intense increase in demand and, on the other hand, the inflexible and complicated structure of the microchip supply.


The increase in demand is shaped, for example, by car manufacturers who are investing in the expansion of electric vehicles. The demand for electronic devices also rose sharply as a result of the global corona pandemic, driven by more home offices and homeschooling.


The range of microchips is inflexible, mainly due to the complexity of their manufacture. “In fact, chips today have structures that are often only a few atomic layers thick. For their production, highly sensitive clean rooms are necessary, which make the production facilities extremely expensive and complex. The construction of a semiconductor factory can cost billions of euros, ”says FHTW expert Peter Rössler .


The production of chips is also very time-consuming. A microchip consists of a so-called "wafer". In semiconductor manufacture, the term “wafer” refers to the wafers on which the integrated circuits, the microchips, are manufactured. Such wafers have a throughput time of six weeks to three months in a semiconductor factory.


What role does crypto mining play when there is a shortage of chips?

The influence of crypto mining companies on the global shortage of chips is controversial. The only thing that is certain is that it makes a difference which type of crypto mining is involved.


Bitcoin miners use 5nm or 7nm chips, which are mainly required for the production of smartphones. There are currently no scientific data or studies that reliably shed light on the role of Bitcoin mining in the microchip shortage. Projections assume that Bitcoin mining takes up approx. 4-6% of the 5nm to 7nm chip production.


Ethereum Mining is based on graphics cards that are also used for gaming. It is estimated that 19% of the GPUs produced in 2020 were bought by Ethereum miners. As a result, the computing power in the Ethereum network is currently at an all-time high of > 900 terrahash / second .


Conclusion

The influence of crypto mining on the shortage of chips is therefore industry and currency specific. While gaming PCs compete strongly with Ethereum miners, the influence of Bitcoin mining on smartphone production seems to be rather limited.


So if the new iPhone is not to be found under the Christmas tree in time this year, Bitcoin is at least partly to blame.

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All information contained on our website has been researched to the best of our knowledge and belief. The journalistic contributions are for general informational purposes only. Any action that the reader takes based on the information found on our website is entirely at your own risk.

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