2017's GPU Shortage (Explanation and consequences)

Back in 2015 I decided to invest in a gaming PC, time passed and now I decided that it's time to replace my GPU.
So, here I was looking at Amazon's website and BOOM...

Prices on GPUs are currently inflated up to 300% it's original cost (RX 480/RX580), but why?

Many people knows why this is happening -cryptocurrency mining- however I decided to explain to some folk why this is happening and it's consequences on gaming market.

Cryptocurrency mining is not new, actually Bitcoin mining started in 2009. First to understand why are miners affecting the gaming-oriented GPUs we must explain how mining works.

To obtain cryptocurrency, people need to start mining with "mining rigs" these stay working for long periods of time (weeks or months) they usually use GPUs since they are far more efficient at these type of tasks, geekly speaking:

"A CPU core can execute 4 32-bit instructions per clock (using a 128-bit SSE instruction) or 8 via AVX (256-Bit), whereas a GPU like the Radeon HD 5970 can execute 3200 32-bit instructions per clock (using its 3200 ALUs or shaders). This is a difference of 800 (or 400 in case of AVX) times more instructions per clock"

Since GPUs are efficient at this kind of tasks people actually buy several units of the same graphics card model. Here's an example of 6 Sapphire RX480.

Before I mentioned that mining isn't new, so why are we seeing GPU shortages now? The answer is Ethereum.
It was created in 2015, by June 14th 2017 it reached it's highest value -yet- at $391.51 USD per ETH. Since its value was exponential this last couple of months, people started to mine with the new RX 480/ RX 580 from AMD which are very very efficient for the initial price ($250-$300 USD 8GB versions). Since the demand of these GPUs was so high, the demand surpassed the production of GPUs, therefore inflating the price.

Since Nvidia has no competition their similar GPUs have an inflated price tag too.

The consequences for PC gamers.

Well an obvious answer is that prices are very high right now, this applies almost to every GPU on the market. So what about gamers who actually just want to play? Well for now, just wait. Some retailers have taken counter measures to protect its gaming customers by limiting the quantity of GPUs that you can buy.
Nvidia is planning to release mining oriented GPUs so the gaming market won't be affected by bulk GPU shopping.

My advice is to wait, people who is new in PC Gaming might be tempted into buying a GPU but prices aren't normal right now. If you want to buy, for example a GTX 1070 it is at $650 USD while originally at launch it was $400-$460 USD. Same goes for -almost- every card on the market.
Lets hope GPU manufacturers solve this problem as soon as possible.