By the close of 2024, the United States claimed a 40% share in the global Bitcoin network hashrate, largely due to its major mining pools Foundry USA and MARA, which collectively mined 38.5% of all blocks.
Foundry and MARA Growth
Starting 2024 with a hashrate of 157 EH/s, Foundry USA nearly doubled its capacity, reaching 280 EH/s by December. Antpool, its Asian counterpart, saw only a modest increase from 130 EH/s to 147 EH/s, significantly trailing Bitcoin’s overall network growth of 49%. Currently, Foundry and MARA now account for 38.5% of all Bitcoin blocks mined, up from 32.4% at the start of 2024.
China's Continued Dominance
Even with substantial US contributions, China remains the dominating force in Bitcoin mining, accounting for 55% of the total computational power as of 2024. Despite the country's ongoing crypto ban, Chinese miners have found ways to operate, such as using VPNs to mask their IP addresses.
Shifts on the Horizon
Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, has observed a gradual shift of Bitcoin mining dominance towards the US. While Chinese pools handle 55% of the network, US pools manage 40%, primarily serving institutional miners in America.
The US is on a steady path of growth in Bitcoin mining. While China currently leads, a gradual realignment favoring US capacities is underway.
