The total network hash rate of the Ethereum cryptocurrency has dropped 19% in just one month. This represents the total power to generate blocks and the amount of hardware directed to GPU-centric algorithms. This significant drop in network hash rates highlights the significant impact that China's recent crypto crackdown has had on the industry.

The graph below (via Etherscan) shows that hash rates have begun to level off after the recent significant drop. This seems to suggest that this is purely based on the system shutdown of graphics card mines in China.

The Chinese government is trying to phase out cryptocurrency mining in many areas, including Sichuan, Yunnan, and Inner Mongolia, where energy costs are lowest. At the same time, domestic financial institutions are conducting their own purges, possibly government-mandated, of cryptocurrency services and cryptocurrency trading.

All of this means that GPU mining in China, which accounts for the majority of the world's graphics card mining, is becoming far less attractive for companies. As a result, there are reports that used graphics cards are beginning to appear on the market at prices close to MSRP.

Network hash rates have leveled off from a high of 643.81 TH/s in May to 499.55 TH/s today. While this is only a descent to the level as of April, and still higher than earlier levels, it must still be said to indicate the impact of recent events.

It is possible that this is just a lull, a dormant state for Ethereum, before the miners set up base somewhere else in the world and HAM the hash rate and spike it even higher. Also, with declining profitability and the impending fork to proof-of-stake instead of proof-of-work, a process based on graphics cards, this could be the beginning of the end for Ethereum-based GPU mining.

This has led to falling GPU prices in China, as well as signs in Germany and Russia that graphics card costs are beginning the long and winding road back to normal.

Ethereum is not the most widely known of the cryptocurrencies, but it is most closely tied to PC gaming because it requires hardware. Bitcoin remains the biggie, and this cryptocurrency is taking the unprecedented step of actually making mining easier and thus more profitable.

Reports indicate that the Bitcoin network readjusts its difficulty level approximately every two weeks, and due to a mining crackdown in China, the time it takes to unblock Bitcoin has hit the 19-minute mark. This is an increase from the typical 10-minute completion time considered more desirable.

Bitcoin's code is now making blocks about 28% easier to mine, and theoretically block times will return to the 10-minute range.

Since it is a dedicated ASIC, not a graphics card, that is sent to bitcoin miners, it will not affect GPU prices, but it is fascinating to see what is currently happening in the cryptocurrency market as a whole.