Do cryptocurrencies 'bring anything useful for society'?

The US chip-maker Nvidia has said cryptocurrencies do not "bring anything useful for society" despite the company's powerful processors selling in huge quantities to the sector.

Does Nvidia like crypto?

Nvidia might have made a bundle off crypto miners buying the company's GPUs over the years, but that doesn't mean that the company likes cryptocurrency. In a recent interview with the Guardian, a company executive said that crypto adds "nothing useful to society," especially compared to AI chatbots like ChatGPT.

Why did Nvidia limit the ability to mine crypto coins?

Nvidia famously limited the ability of its graphics cards to mine popular crypto coins in an attempt to discourage farmers. Last year, the Ethereum blockchain switched to a "proof-of-stake" system that reportedly decreased its energy consumption by 99.9%, after many criticized the massive carbon footprint of crypto farming.

Will Nvidia's cards fuel the crypto boom?

Michael Kagan, the chief technology officer of Nvidia, says that he would rather see the processing power of the company's cards fuel something societally useful, such as the current AI boom. He compared the crypto boom to the high-frequency trading industry, which made his former company Mellanox a lot of money.