The US dominates the Bitcoin market, capturing over 40% of the global hashrate. Two US-based mining companies, Foundry USA and MARA Pool, mine more than 38.5% of all blocks.
Growth of Foundry USA's Hashrate
According to TheMinerMag, Foundry USA increased its hashrate from 157 exahashes per second (EH/s) at the start of 2024 to approximately 280 EH/s by December. Foundry is currently the largest mining pool, controlling roughly 36.5% of the total hashrate in the Bitcoin network.
Chinese Mining Pools and Their Influence
Despite the increase in computing power in the US, Chinese mining pools still control the majority of the global hashrate. A factor is Chinese miners' use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass national restrictions and connect to mining pools. This complicates the estimation of true hashrate dominance, as many pools rely on computing power contributed by miners outside of a single jurisdiction.
Concerns Over Hashrate Centralization
The concentration of computing power in a small number of mining pools raises concerns among industry executives. Rajiv Khemani, co-founder and CEO of mining chip manufacturer Auradine, stated that Bitcoin decentralization is a matter of national security. He noted that critical mining infrastructure should not be manufactured within a single jurisdiction to mitigate supply chain risks.
Bitcoin mining centralization remains a topic of debate, as the US strengthens its dominance in the global hashrate and experts express concerns over its impact on network decentralization.
