Based on third quarter activity, NVIDIA is no longer cashing in as much on the cryptocurrency craze: recently, the network has only increased about 15 terahashes per second, which implies a boost of about $40 to $45 million. This is significantly less than the $150 million boost the company saw in the second quarter, where network speed increased by 55 terahashes per second. The Ethereum network is changing from a power-hungry “proof of work” method to a “proof of stake” system this year, which would dramatically lessen the need for powerful chips from NVIDIA and result in a further decrease in its crypto business.



NVIDIA is paying attention to cryptocurrencies and sees it as an important part of its business, but its real bets are being placed elsewhere. The company just released a new chip architecture called “Volta” which has been popular in datacenter and machine learning applications. Volta production is still ramping up, and the chips are new to the market leaving lots of room for that segment to grow, Steves said. The company also has partnered with carmakers Toyota and Volvo to help the companies’ autonomous driving efforts. Steves believes this is another part of the business that will continue to grow in the future.

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