Bitcoin’s hashrate has jumped above 250 exahash per second after the ming operations that went offline on 25th December 2022 came online again. One might think that as Bitcoin’s hash rate continues to rise, more miners are joining the network, and the cryptocurrency is becoming even more decentralized. However, data shows that this is not the case and Bitcoin mining is not decentralised. In fact, 53% of the total hash rate of BTC is controlled by just two mining pools.
Two mining pools control 53% of the Bitcoin hash rate
The total hash rate of Bitcoin is now near 250 EH/s which is pretty amazing. Before this, the hash rate dropped to a low of 170 EH/s before jumping back on 28th December. As this jump happened and mining pools came online, Foundry USA and AntPool captured 31.4% and 21.9% of the total hash rate of Bitcoin. If, for some reason, these two pools go offline, the computation power of the BTC network would be cut in half in an instant.
Now, the data is even more surprising if we consider the top 5 mining pools. The next 3 largest pools are F2Pool, ViaBTC and Binance Pool, which contribute 14.3%, 9.3% and 9.1% of the total hash rate of Bitcoin. So, combining the top 5 pools contribute 86% of the total hash rate of Bitcoin. This show how centralized the network has become.
Coming to Bitcoin mining difficulty, it is expected to decline significantly on January 3rd. The change is estimated to be around 7.39% and 8.1%.
How can the mining centralization problem be solved?
Unless mining Bitcoin is easy and accessible to everyone, large companies will continue to dominate the space. Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s company, Square, are already working on Bitcoin mining devices that will be plug-and-play. Normal users who do not have the technical knowledge to set up a Bitcoin mining rig can get a machine that can be just plugged in and start mining Bitcoin. This will surely reduce centralization and make bitcoin mining a normal thing for every household.
Bitcoin is supposed to be decentralised and not under anyone’s control which is why this data should be taken seriously. What are your thoughts, as reports show that Bitcoin mining is not so decentralised? And do you think Square’s new mining rig can change this? Let us know in the comments below. And, if you found our content informative, share it with your family and friends.
Also Read: Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao expects a crypto bull market in 2023
