Cryptocurrencies are blisteringly hot right now. Bitcoin just crossed the $3,500 mark for the first time and is up 493.38% over the last year.
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Nvidia and AMD have very different views on cryptocurrencies (NVDA, AMD)
Two of the largest GPU chip makers disagree on the best way to address the recent growth of bitcoin and its rival cryptocurrencies.
A Bitcoin (virtual currency) mining machine and a paper wallet with QR codes are seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris
The meteoric rise of cryptocurrencies has been a boost to several chip makers. Nvidia and AMD are the two largest manufacturers producing graphics processing units that cryptocurrency users take advantage of to speed up the network.
GPUs from both AMD and Nvidia have been sold out in many places as demand for the cards has skyrocketed with the value of bitcoin.
Even though the currencies have provided a boost to both companies, the CEOs running Nvidia and AMD have very different views of how to approach the "miners" hungry for their technology.
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On Nvidia's latest earnings call, CEO Jen-Hsun Huang responded to a question about the company's plan to address cryptocurrencies by saying they are "here to stay."
"The market need for it is going to grow, and over time it will become quite large. It is very clear that new currencies will come to market, and it's very clear that the GPU is just fantastic at cryptography," Huang said. "Our strategy is to stay very, very close to the market. We understand its dynamics really well."
Nvidia has released several GPUs dedicated to cryptocurrency mining recently. The chips are optimized for lower power consumption and faster processing speeds for the type of math specific to mining.
This runs contrary to AMD's strategy. AMD's CEO,
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