I recently tried setting up another mining rig but found out all the profitable GPUs are no longer available at all local stores in my country. According to the distributors, people have been buying GPUs in BULK since April 2017.
At this rate, can GPU mining still be profitable long term? 1 year from now? 3 years from now?
I think the decentralized nature of GPU POW mining is here to stay for the forseable future. There will be peaks for sure, just like the last time there was a run on GPU's back in 2014, until ASIC's moved in to take over Scrypt. However those that stuck it out and kept mining are now benefiting from having done so.