Foundry and AntPool control 57% of Bitcoin mining pools

Concerns about Bitcoin's rise are rising in the crypto community, as some fear it could threaten the fundamentals of the world's first digital asset.

Recent data from BTC.com shows that two mining pools – Foundry USA and Antpool – now control approximately 57% of Bitcoin's total network hashrate.

Foundry and AntPool manage Bitcoin mining pools.

Bitcoin mining pools are cooperative networks where individual miners combine their computing power to improve their chances of mining. After deducting maintenance fees, rewards are distributed among participants based on their contributed hashing power.

Over time, these pools are gaining popularity, which provide a steady income compared to the unpredictable rewards of solo mining. However, the landscape is increasingly dominated by Foundry and Antpool, which are now strong competitors. According to data from BTC.com, the overall Bitcoin network hashrate is around 651 EH/s, while Foundry is 215.79 EH/s and AntPool is 153.55 EH/s.

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Some experts warn that competition between Foundry and Antpool could have geopolitical implications. Foundry USA, which is owned by Digital Currency Group – Greyscale's parent company – fits US needs. In contrast, Antpool, which is powered by China's Bitmain technology, shows a Chinese influence.

The growing centralization of Bitcoin mining raises concerns about the cryptocurrency's future. Bitcoin developer Luc Dashjar has previously warned against the dangers of large mining pools. They argue that centralization threatens the decentralized nature of Bitcoin, which could lead to censorship and regulatory issues.

Therefore, if a pool controls more than 50% of the network hashrate, 51% can be attacked, which compromises the integrity of the network. While no single pool currently has such power, the concentration of influence among a few pools has led to instances of transaction censorship on the Bitcoin network.

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Many mining pools are subject to regulations that require them to comply with economic sanctions. For example, in In 2023, F2Pool censored transactions in compliance with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list, but later reversed this move after backlash from the Bitcoin community.