I've heard that GPU prices have been soaring due to demand for use in mining rigs. It seems it's still economical to mine some coins with them. This is hitting gamers, but also scientists who use them to process massive amounts of data. This particular story talks about the SETI project and astronomy, but I expect they are used in other fields too. I remember hearing of scientists buying PlayStations to use in experiments as they have great performance for the money. GPUs are great at parallel processing.
This is another reason that proof of work is wasteful. It's using massive amounts of energy to produce money when we need it for other things. I don't see how some blockchains can scale up economically. It's another way that the pursuit of money will trash the world.
I'm sure bitcoin mining must be getting less viable if the price doesn't rise. Will coins using proof of stake and other systems take over?
Steem on!