bitcoin mining looks more like a tight club than an open competition. A CryptoSlate Partner article published on July 8, 2026, cites miningpoolstats.stream data as of June 23, 2026, and states that Foundry Digital, AntPool, ViaBTC, and F2Pool together account for over 70% of the network. hash rate. The changes are fueling what the report calls a “two-tier market,” with the largest pool increasingly geared towards institutional investors, while independents and mid-sized carriers are squeezed. Some small-scale miners are already quietly rethinking where to direct their machines, especially as ViaBTC faces increased regulatory scrutiny in 2026.
bitcoin mining Although often talked about as a wide open frontier, mid-2026 looks more like a handful of toll roads. A CryptoSlate article from July 8, 2026 (partner content) provides a snapshot from June 23, 2026 that shows just a few pools play a big role in where blocks are created and which types of miners are best served.
The rise of four dominant players in Bitcoin mining
As of the June 23 snapshot, four pools had more than 70% control. Bitcoin‘s hash rate: Foundry Digital, AntPool, ViaBTC, and F2Pool. The estimated splits were clear: Foundry at 31%, AntPool at 18%, ViaBTC at 13%, and F2Pool at 10%, per the numbers cited in the report: 31%, 18%, 13%, and 10%.
One important detail for US operators is that Foundry is based in the US and backed by Digital Currency Group. The pool is primarily built for large institutional investors and listed mining companies, and the customer onboarding method incorporates strict KYC requirements, it said.
A two-tier market is formed.
CryptoSlate frames this concentration as a “two-tier market,” where the largest pools are increasingly optimized for institutional investors. This type of optimization is usually invisible until you fight for responsiveness, predictable payments, or account support. This is why independent and mid-sized miners are said to be quietly rethinking where they want to direct their machines.
The key change is not the branding of a single pool, but the scale at which it can be purchased. If a pool’s business is geared toward fleets and compliance-focused customers, small miners can feel like an edge case rather than a core product.
Scrutiny, switching costs and exploring alternatives
ViaBTC, which held an estimated 13% share in mid-2026, has faced increased regulatory scrutiny this year, particularly affecting miners with ties to Russia and other CIS countries. The report describes account restrictions, surprise KYC requests, and temporary fund freezes, and these frictions can cause even loyal miners to reconsider their setup.
In the same report, EMCD is positioned as an alternative, claiming performance of over 30 EH/s. hash rateFPPS has fees starting at 1.5%, while many comparable pools charge around 4%. EMCD was founded in 2017 and made its first pool available in February 2018.
Centralization of metrics
D-Central’s H1 2026 snapshot (data as of June 19, 2026): bitcoin mining The Nakamoto coefficient for the pool was 3. In other words, according to Nakamoto coefficient data, only three pools were needed to account for more than half of all blocks mined, and Foundry USA accounted for about 27% of the blocks.
And the leaderboard keeps moving. In the latest 7-day window posted on July 16, 2026, Simple Mining ranks Foundry USA at 27.0%, F2Pool and AntPool both at 17.2%, ViaBTC at 9.5%, and SpiderPool at 5.5%.
