Bitcoin [BTC] and other cryptocurrency mining decline hits the market; AMD reports 22% loss

Recently, Advanced Micro Devices [AMD], announced its fourth quarter reports, which showed a 22% decline after dwindling interest from the cryptocurrency mining community.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin [BTC] require a computational power, which is provided by the Graphics Processing Unit [GPU] of the chipsets. Chipmakers like AMD and NVIDIA had basked in the cryptocurrency boom of late 2017 when Bitcoin had breached the $19,000 mark.

Summit Insights Group analyst Kinngai Chan said:

“The miss was due to GPU. AMD had too high an exposure to the crypto-currency market. Additionally, they do not have a competitive line-up in the PC Gaming market.”

In an earlier report on the second quarter analysis, AMD had stated that the decline in chip sales was due to miners was actually a positive sign.

Lisa Su, the CEO of AMD, had earlier predicted that the sales would decline with succeeding quarters and it has been reflected this time. After the latest company release, the CEO stated:

“In graphics, the year-over-year revenue decrease was primarily driven by significantly lower channel GPU sales, partially offset by improved OEM and data center GPU sales.”

AMD and NVIDIA have also been hit by the release of more affordable and faster processors applications like Honeyminer, a lure for the cryptocurrency mining enthusiasts.

AMD speculates that the reason for the double-digit decline in sales is because of the roller coaster ride of cryptocurrency regulations in the United States. Bitcoin [BTC], the largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap, has always been in the limelight when it comes to trade regulations and restrictions proposed by financial watchdogs like the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC].

The SEC had also put a hold on passing the Bitcoin ETF’s, which has again generated a sort of backlash in the Bitcoin market as well as the entire cryptocurrency market as a whole.

Just recently, Kara Stein, the SEC Commissioner, spoke about the Bitcoin ETF and stated:

“The nature of the commodity, the OC pricing sources, and access to individual investors are a few points that have caused a hiccup. For something like the Bitcoin ETF to come to fruition, it has to adhere to a few basic guidelines.”

Some of the guidelines mentioned by the SEC official covered characteristics like accurate valuations, ensuring physical custody and providing liquidity for investors so that they are able to withdraw the assets at any time.