ADATA sees sixfold increase in high-capacity SSD sales due to Chia coin

Posted on Thursday, April 29 2021 @ 9:01 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Two weeks ago I wrote about Chia, a new cryptocurrency coin that uses storage devices. The article warned about a rush on HDDs and SSDs and now evidence is coming in that storage makers are indeed seeing a big increase in orders.

ADATA sees 500% increase in sales for some SSD models

Tom's Hardware reports ADATA is seeing a huge spike in sales of high-capacity SSDs. The firm is reportedly selling up to 500 percent more high-capacity disks:
Adata told DigiTimes that, as a result of Chia mining, the company's high-capacity SSD orders rose between 400% to 500% over the previous month. The vendor is working diligently to restock its inventory to satisfy the increased demand for storage devices. One of Adata's strategies involves retaining more than three months of chip inventory to prepare for the ramp-up in SSD orders.
What makes Chia unique is that it uses a two-step mining process. It's a bit like farming. First, you have to create a plot on your storage disk and then you need to cultivate the plot. Cultivating a Chia farm means letting the plot sit on your storage disk, where it takes up space indefinitely. This is Chia's Proof of Space concept. Plotting is fastest on SSDs due to their higher write speed, while HDDs can be used to cultivate that plot.

Research firm TrendForce claims the rush on storage is now spilling outside of China. SSD controllers were already in short supply so this will likely result in poorer availability and higher pricing of SSDs.

Tom's Hardware estimates that the Adata's XPG SX8100 4TB SSD, with its 2560TBW, is good for making about 1,422 plots. With a retail price of close to $500, this comes down to $0.35 per plot. Chia will start trading on May 3rd so it will be interesting to see for how much it will trade.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



Loading Comments