The AI chip market enters a multi-year super cycle, with TSMC's earnings report revealing key signals

As the earnings call on January 15 approaches, market focus has shifted from the past 4Q25 performance to forecasts for 2026. According to industry analysis, TSMC's performance this year will be anchored by AI demand, while the advancement of 2nm process technology and expansion budgets are expected to become dual engines for sustained revenue growth in 2026.

What does this mean? In simple terms, the chip cost structure is improving, with higher yields in advanced processes directly reducing unit costs. This will have a ripple effect on the entire crypto computing ecosystem—whether it's GPU mining or AI inference nodes. Accelerated Capex investments indicate that the supply chain is preparing for larger-scale demand.

From the perspective of the crypto industry, this long-cycle expansion in the chip industry will inevitably impact computing power costs, mining economics, and even cloud computing infrastructure pricing. It is worth paying attention to whether TSMC can deliver 2nm capacity on schedule, as this will directly determine the cost competitiveness of AI and crypto computing platforms in the coming years.