In our latest roundup of mining-related news, we look at a few examples of the knock-on effect that the current cryptocurrency bear market is having on the global mining industry and its main hardware suppliers.
Also Read: US Bank That Serves 483 Cryptocurrency Companies Is Seeking an IPO
American Mining Operation Goes Bankrupt
Giga Watt, a bitcoin miner based in the U.S. state of Washington, filed for bankruptcy on Monday. The company told the Eastern District of Washington bankruptcy court that it is “insolvent and unable to pay its debts when due,” according to local media reports. The company claimed to have less than $50,000 in assets left and somewhere between $10 million to $50 million in outstanding liabilities.
As news.Bitcoin.com previously reported, Giga Watt is the product of Dave Carlson, who has past experience with failed mining ventures. In 2014, his Megabigpower mining project fell apart after his supposed partners failed to purchase the equipment they had promised to buy. Giga Watt was also sued for securities fraud by investors who claimed to have contributed around $20 million to its ICO in the summer of 2017.
Taiwanese Manufacturers Stuck With Inventory
Weak demand from GPU miners is one of the leading contributing factors to the slump in sales for manufacturers of motherboards and graphic cards such as Asus and Gigabyte, according to reports from Taiwan. The companies also expect the situation to continue to negatively affect their bottom lines through the first half of 2019.
“Gigabyte’s annual motherboard shipments for 2018 are estimated to fall under 12 million units from 12.6 million posted in 2017, and its graphics card shipments for 2018 are forecast to drop to the 2016 level of 3.65 million units, down one million units from 2017,”
