Cryptocurrency Miners Are Apparently Hampering The Search For Extraterrestrial Life...
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Yes, you read that right.
RT is reporting The SETI@Home Project, which is hosted by UC Berkeley and uses "public resource computing" to analyze radio telescope signals, recently said "their plans to expand operations have been scuppered by the short supply of crucial computer components."
When interviewed by the BBC, Dan Werthimer, a chief scientist at Berkeley's SETI Research Center, commented, "That's limiting our search for extraterrestrials, to try to answer the question, 'Are we alone? Is there anybody out there?'"
Per RT's article:
GPUs (graphics processing units) are high-performance chips used by radio astronomers, video gamers and, most recently, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency miners. This has reportedly caused an increase in demand and a shortage of supply.
"This is a new problem, it's only happened on orders we've been trying to make in the last couple of months," Werthimer added.
The cost of high-end GPUs purchased by the group has doubled in the midst of cryptocurrency fever, from $1,000 to $2,000, Werthimer told RT.
