Second-hand Mining Hardware Sales Really Take off in China

A lot of Chinese cryptocurrency enthusiasts are ditching their mining equipment. This trend has become apparent since a few weeks ago. Every day, more listings show up on second-hand marketplace websites. So far, it appears most of the hardware being sold related to altcoin mining. There are also a few Bitcoin ASICs to be found, but nothing out of the ordinary so far.

The increasing sale of cryptocurrency mining hardware in China is pretty interesting. Given the country’s access to rather cheap electricity, mining has become a lot more popular. However, the recent ban on ICOs and crackdown on CNY trading makes it somewhat unprofitable to mine. As a result, we see an influx of second-hand mining hardware right now. A lot of this hardware is being sold on online marketplaces.

Booming Second-hand Mining Hardware Market

So far, the Chinese government has not cracked down on this activity. They have gone after nearly everything else related to cryptocurrency as of late, though. Then again, mining is something even the Chinese government can get behind, by the look of things. It remains to be seen if there is enough demand for all of this mining hardware, though. A lot of bulk auctions can be found on these platforms as of right now.

There are a lot of people who stopped caring about cryptocurrency prices altogether. No real surprise, given the government’s stance on this new form of money. Then again, cryptocurrencies have all appreciated in value tremendously throughout 2017. It is still a  profitable business if one can exchange altcoins to Bitcoin or fiat currency. So far, that has proven to be rather problematic for many people.

Additionally, the use of GPUs for mining purposes can be quite problematic for some people. The hardware often degrades a lot quicker than most people assume these days. At the same time, one needs to be able to resell the hardware while it is still in semi-working condition. Rest assured this second-hand hardware market will grow quite a bit in the coming months. Until China comes out with proper regulation, the industry will remain pretty volatile.No one knows if and when that will happen, though.

Header image courtesy of Shutterstock