Bram Cohen’s Chia Drives Hard Disk Demand in Europe: Report

Research by Context shows just under 200,000 enterprise-grade nearline storage devices of 10TB capacity were sold to end-users in Europe this April.

Jun 9, 2021 at 4:14 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 1:08 p.m. UTC

Bram Cohen Chia photo — Chia founder Bram Cohen

The debut of the cryptocurrency Chia has generated a surge in demand for hard disk drives in the European market, according to a report.

The latest research by Context shows just under 200,000 enterprise-grade nearline storage devices of 10TB capacity, and more were sold to end-users in Europe this April, marking a 240% increase compared to April 2020, reports The Register.
The Chia network was founded in 2018 by Bram Cohen, co-founder BitTorrent, one of the most influential protocols on the internet.
That Chia relies on proof of space rather than proof of work is driving the rise in demand for drives and growth across the market, said the report.
"It has taken everybody by surprise following the launch of Chia," Gurvan Meyer, senior enterprise analyst at Context, told the publication. "Even Western Digital and Seagate were not expecting high demand like this," said Meyer.
The analyst said he expects the effect on the market to be long-lasting.

Read more about

Bram Cohen Chia CoinFlash

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.