Mining pools Foundry, Antpool, and Viabtc collectively control over 65% of the global network hashrate, leveraging their influence through scale, competitive fees, and personalized incentives for participants.

What are mining pools?

Merged mining pools aggregate the computing power of individual miners to increase the probability of finding blocks, distributing rewards based on the computing power contributed. As of March 20, 2025, the total computing power of the Bitcoin network is 809.65 EH/s. The leading players in this field are Foundry USA (246 EH/s), Antpool (173 EH/s), and Viabtc (111 EH/s), which together account for about 65.5% of the world's computing power, according to mempool.space.

Their vast infrastructure attracts miners looking for a stable income, creating a significant feedback loop in which dominant pools continue to grow while smaller competitors face increasing pressure.

Foundry USA's Leading Position

Foundry USA currently holds a dominant position, controlling nearly 30% of the total Bitcoin hashrate. The pool’s appeal is reportedly due to its stringent security measures, such as KYC/AML compliance, address whitelisting, and SOC 2 certification, as well as its zero-fee Full Pay Per Share (FPPS) payout model, which guarantees stable revenues for institutional clients. Its “Donate” initiative further differentiates the pool by allowing miners to donate a portion of their revenues to Bitcoin development in order to increase goodwill in the ecosystem.

Foundry’s US operations claim to offer predictable regulation, an important consideration for miners concerned about geopolitical instability. Publicly traded miners Bitfarms, Hut 8, and Cipher Mining are believed to be using Foundry’s dedicated pool. Of the last 998 blocks, Foundry has found 310.

Antpool

Antpool, ranked second with 173 EH/s, leverages its relationship with Bitmain Technologies (founded in 2013) to ensure reliability and trust. The pool uses a fee-free Pay Per Last N Shares (PPLNS) model, optimizing profitability for miners. Its combined mining features allow it to mine multiple blockchains simultaneously, increasing potential profits without incurring additional costs.

Antpool's geographically distributed network of nodes, spanning the US, Germany, and China, minimizes downtime, while low payout thresholds and a strong reputation contribute to its popularity. Bitfufu and Bitdeer are said to contribute hashrate to Antpool's overall hashpower. Over the past 998 Bitcoin blocks, Antpool's hashrate has managed to mine 209 blocks.

Viabtc

Viabtc, ranked third with 111 EH/s, focuses on profitability with its unique PPS+ payout system designed to improve miner returns. The platform is made more attractive by integrating financial instruments such as crypto-backed loans and hedging strategies, as well as real-time Telegram notifications on hashrate fluctuations. Viabtc’s flexible payout options make it an attractive choice for miners. The pool offers PPS+, PPLNS, and SOLO payment methods to accommodate the diverse preferences of miners.

Notably, PPS+ is a Viabtc-exclusive system designed to maximize profitability, a benefit noted in the Ultramining review. Supporting merged mining of litecoin (LTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH), Viabtc reportedly offers plenty of diversification opportunities. Miners are said to flock to this pool due to its intuitive interface, mobile app, and global user base. Of the 998 blocks mined, the Viabtc pool managed to capture 136.

Why Miners Prefer Large Pools

Miners are increasingly choosing large pools like Foundry, Antpool, and Viabtc for their reliability and stable reward distribution. These organizations reduce operational risks through advanced infrastructure, dedicated support, and efficient fee structures—benefits that smaller pools struggle to replicate.

However, the resulting centralization raises debates about the nature of Bitcoin, as concentrated computing power could theoretically expose the network to coordinated attacks. This debate has arisen many times, but so far nothing has been able to seriously stop centralization. As of March 2025, the hashrate share of these three pools at 65% reflects a continuing trend of increasing centralization unless something changes.

While miners benefit from stability and efficiency, this consolidation calls into question Bitcoin’s decentralized ideals. For example, it is speculated that some organizations and transactions could be blocked in the future if centralization continues unabated. Economic pragmatism continues to support this trend, suggesting that

Source: cryptonews.net