Fast Take
Up to now 24 hours, the 2 largest Bitcoin mining swimming pools, Foundry USA and Antpool, have demonstrated vital dominance, every holding roughly 30% of the mining pool market and collectively mining slightly below 60% of the blocks up to now 24 hours. Each swimming pools mined 41 blocks every throughout this era. The third-largest pool, ViaBTC, accounted for about 11% of the blocks.
A 12 months in the past, Foundry USA held a 29% share, and Antpool had 25%. Three years in the past, Foundry USA had a 24% share, and Antpool had 20%. This improve highlights the rising dominance of those two mining swimming pools. At present, Foundry USA boasts a hashrate of 181 EH/s, whereas Antpool has round 140 EH/s, elevating considerations about mining centralization.
Bob Burnett, Founder and CEO of Barefoot Mining, identified these considerations, noting an occasion the place Antpool mined 5 out of six consecutive blocks between blocks 850448 and 850453. Many publicly traded Bitcoin miners, akin to Cipher Mining, Bitfarms, and Hut 8, use Foundry USA.
Antpool, primarily based in Beijing and owned by Bitmain, the biggest ASIC producer, signifies a major hash charge focus in China and the USA. This centralization may pose future challenges, particularly as weaker miners go away the community and stronger miners consolidate their positions, with publicly traded miners considerably rising their hashrate.
It’s price noting that throughout the China mining ban in the summertime of 2021, Antpool’s hash charge dominance elevated from 10% to 18% regardless of an total lower of their absolute hash charge.
It’s not essentially a priority if a mining pool holds a 51% share, as the danger of a 51% assault primarily arises if a single miner controls nearly all of the hash charge. In such circumstances, it’s the centralization inside the pool, somewhat than the pool itself, that poses the risk.
