Did NVIDIA just give up on slowing the RTX 3060 down for crypto mining?

What you need to know

• A beta driver for the RTX 3060 removes the limit on crypto mining Ethereum.
• NVIDIA initially limited the hash rate for mining to try to get the GPU into the hands of gamers.
• Reports emerged last week of unofficial workarounds to get around the hash rate limiter.

It appears that NVIDIA could be moving away from its stance on limiting the hash rate of the GeForce RTX 3060 for mining the Ethereum cryptocurrency. NVIDIA's announcement that it would limit the hash rate of the RTX 3060 was met with mixed reactions. On the one hand, NVIDIA's efforts were done to try to make the graphics card less alluring to crypto miners. On the other hand, NVIDIA appears to have done a poor job limiting the hash rate.

Last week, reports emerged of potential hacked workarounds of the limit. Those reports were thrown into question, but that might now matter at this point because the latest beta driver from NVIDIA removes the limit.

Computer Base reports that the GeForce 470.05 beta driver no longer limits the RTX 3060 when calculating the Ethereum algorithm. Notably, the switch does not include a BIOS update. NVIDIA is distributing the driver to developers through the Windows Insider Program.

At this point, it's unclear if this is a purposeful move towards removing the limit entirely or just something NVIDIA is doing with a driver that's in beta testing. It seems unlikely that NVIDIA would remove the limit with a beta driver only to bring it back again, but development paths aren't always linear.

This saga is worth following for gamers, even if they don't plan to use the card for mining. If the limit is removed, people might see if the RTX 3060 can be one of the besting mining GPUs. As the RTX 3060 is likely one of the best graphics cards on the market, stocks will be lower if miners want to use them.