TSMC Expects 'Strong' Crypto Mining Demand to Continue
Cryptocurrency mining demand provided a boost to TSMC's fourth-quarter revenue, according to new statements from the foundry giant.
Jan 18, 2018 at 4:20 p.m. UTC
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The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reported strong financial results in the fourth quarter, thanks in part to demand from cryptocurrency mining.
In a Jan. 18 statement, the world's largest independent semiconductor foundry said that it generated NT$277.57 billion (roughly $9.2 billion) in revenue during the fourth quarter, representing a year-over-year increase of 5.9%.
On the hardware shipping front, TSMC said that its "advanced technologies," constituting wafers in excess of 28-nanometers, represented 63% of total wafer revenue.
Lora Ho, TSMC's senior vice president and chief financial officer, attributed the results to demand from cryptocurrency miners – who, through the energy-intensive mining process, add new transactions to blockchains and thereby mint new coins in the process as a reward – as well as mobile product launches.
According to Ho, that demand is expected to continue into 2018.
She was quoted as saying:
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
The results mark a continuance of TSMC's performance – thanks in part to mining demand – as the company reported similar findings after the third quarter of 2017. At the time, TSMC reported a third-quarter revenue of $8.32 billion.
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