Chia sparked a run on hard drives in Southeast Asia in the lead-up to its launch.
XCH launched on Monday with a price of just under $1,600. It briefly climbed to $1,819 but within hours fell to the $700 mark, and has since seen a steady decline to $597, shedding over $1000 of its launch price.
Chia’s “proof of space” model
Chia uses a novel “proof of space” consensus mechanism. Instead of the energy-intensive proof-of-work consensus protocol employed by Bitcoin and Ethereum, it uses storage capacity, which has much lower demands on processing performance.Sign up for Ethereal SummitThe global destination for blockchain technologists, startups, entrepreneurs, and investors working towards the decentralization and democratization of data is back. Sign up to be part of the Ethereal Summit.AdPartnerTogether with Decrypt
However, that’s had unintended consequences. Chia is mined using high-capacity storage devices; miners preparing to transact in the cryptocurrency ahead of its launch sparked concerns about hard drive shortages last month, driving up prices in Southeast Asia.
Computer storage space has become a hot commodity recently, with protocols such as Filecoin and Filebase recently launched to capitalize on unused
It’s not the first time that a cryptocurrency has sparked shortages of computer hardware. A long-running battle between crypto miners and PC gamers over GPUs, which can be used to mine Ethereum, led to a worldwide shortage of graphics cards—and spiraling prices. GPU manufacturer Nvidia subsequently introduced restrictions to prevent miners from using the cards.Home-mining Crypto Chia Sparks Hard Drive Shortage Ahead of Trading DebutMiners planning to transact in a “proof of space” crypto intended as an eco-friendly alternative to Bitcoin have sparked a run on hard drives in Southeast Asia. Chia (XCH), a cryptocurrency th…NewsTechnologyAdriana Hamacher4 min read
Chia’s aim to make home-mining great again may have hit a temporary roadblock, as miners have capitalized on the initial hype to shed their coins—but not everyone is downbeat on the cryptocurrency’s prospects. Chia, which was created by BitTorrent founder Bram Cohen, raised some $3 million in a 2018 seed funding round, while two further rounds have raised a further $28 million.
