Nvidia RTX 50 GPUs Soar in South Korea Amid Supply Shortages
Nvidia's GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards are about to get significantly more expensive in South Korea, where prices may increase by as much as 30%. The main reasons behind this price hike are rising memory costs and persistent supply shortages. South Korea is a crucial market for graphics cards due to its status as the global hub of memory chip production, with companies like Samsung and SK Hynix dominating the DRAM and NAND flash supply chains.
The RTX 50 series represents Nvidia's latest consumer graphics lineup, built on the Blackwell architecture. These cards are the successors to the RTX 40 series. The price increase will directly impact mining profitability, as miners need to earn more per unit of compute just to break even, which can change the calculus on whether certain mining operations remain viable at all.
The GPU shortage of 2021 led to a significant increase in prices, creating a secondary market where scalpers thrived and legitimate buyers suffered. This episode contributed to a shift in mining economics that helped accelerate Ethereum's move away from proof-of-work entirely.