TSMC Expects 'Strong' Crypto Mining Demand to Continue

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:

"Our fourth quarter business was supported by major mobile product launches and continuing demand for cryptocurrency mining. Moving into first quarter 2018, we expect the strong demand for cryptocurrency mining will continue while mobile product seasonality will dampen our business in this quarter."

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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