Key Points:

• The United States controls over 40% of the Bitcoin network hashrate, with Foundry USA and MARA Pool mining more than 38.5% of all blocks in 2024.
• Foundry USA, the largest mining pool, expanded its hashrate from 157 EH/s to 280 EH/s in 2024, now holding 36.5% of the total Bitcoin hashrate.

The United States is cementing its status as a global leader in Bitcoin mining, commanding more than 40% of the Bitcoin network hashrate by the end of 2024.

Read more: Bitcoin Hashrate Hits A New All-time High, Signaling Network Growth 

US Takes Up More Than 40% of Bitcoin Network Hashrate

This is greatly spearheaded by two mining pools based in the country: Foundry USA and MARA Pool, which combined to mine more than 38.5% of Bitcoin‘s blocks mined last year.

Foundry USA became the largest mining pool, accounting for about 36.5% of the Bitcoin network hashrate. Its hashrate skyrocketed from 157 EH/s at the beginning of 2024 to as high as 280 EH/s by December, TheMinerMag reported. MARA Pool was smaller but important, with a hashrate of 32 EH/s or 4.35% of the network’s total computing power.

Centralization Risks Increase With U.S. Mining Supremacy

Part of the reason for Foundry USA’s growth is the shift by U.S.-based miners from international pools. Both Foundry and MARA Pool are growing astronomically fast, with Foundry up 68% and Mara Pool up 168% per year against the overall network growth rate.

The rise of North American mining thus speaks to the region’s increasing relevance in the wider cryptocurrency ecosystem but also, of course, to centralization risks – with a few mining pools controlling much of the security of the network.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price has held up well, changing hands at around $98,000, up 1% from the previous day.