The year 2021 remains a tough time to upgrade to the latest graphics cards, and gamers have cryptocurrency mining to thank for their misery. Apparently, an estimated 25 percent of all GPUs sold at the start of 2021 ended up in the hands of miners.

Per analyst firm Jon Peddie Research, cryptocurrency miners managed to grab 700,000 midrange and high-end GPUs to power their professional mining rigs. That amount only accounts for professional mining rigs, which means a good number of cards have also been bought by amateurs for their own crypto-mining endeavors.

In terms of market value, $500 million worth of graphic cards went to miners.

While it’s currently cumbersome for gamers, things might change in the future. Late last month, Nvidia announced that it’s limiting the hash rate for its new RTX cards to dissuade miners. Some retailers are also implementing a one-card-per-customer policy so more people can get hold of a new GPU.