Since January 3, 2009, the Bitcoin Network has mined over 910,000 blocks and is responsible for discovering 48.78% of the nine well-known mining pools. The following highlights the top 10 entities that mined 673,848 blocks, representing almost three-quarters of all blocks generated since the network’s launch.
10 entities that helped write Bitcoin ledgers
In the early days of Bitcoin, mining was done solo, with some participants in commanding more hashrates than others, but the hardware evolved from a central processing unit (CPU) to a graphics processing unit (GPU), and ultimately into today’s application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). At the end of 2010, Marek Palatinus, also known as Slush, launched the first publicly recognized Bitcoin (BTC) mining pool, an aptly named Slush pool, and was later rebranded as Braiins Pool.
This comprehensive look at the top 10 mining entities, the number of blocks discovered, and the identity behind them.
1. Unknown (25.25% / 229,922 blocks)
This category is aimed at unknown miners whose IDs remain hidden in Coinbase transactions. This includes Nakamoto at, early Bitcoin participants, and other anonymous contributors who operate during the formative years of the network. Many of these blocks were mined before organized pools became standard, but today a handful are still being discovered by unknown miners, but practice is becoming increasingly rare.
2. Antpool (11.00% / 100,178 blocks)
Antpool is one of the largest and longest-running mining pools in the industry. When directly owned by Bitmain, Antpool is no longer operated under the company’s umbrella, but still maintains close ties with the company. For a long time, it has been a major contributor to Bitcoin’s hash power, and today it is just behind the foundry as the second largest mining pool by hashrate.
3. F2POOL (10.15% / 92,382 blocks)
Founded in China in 2013, F2pool, known by Origin as Discas Fish, has grown into a major multi-asset mining pool. Over the years, it has mined a significant portion of the block and continues to rank as one of the most influential pools, supporting a wide range of cryptocurrency networks besides Bitcoin.
4. FoundryUSA (6.39%/58,175 blocks)
Foundry USA, a US-based mining pool backed by Foundry Digital, a subsidiary of the Digital Currency Group, has quickly risen to prominence since 2020. Due to the North American mining boom and growing institutional interest, it currently ranks in the fourth block, but leads the industry with the 2025 hashrate.
5. VIABTC (5.16%/47,014 blocks)
Founded by Haipo Yang in May 2016, VIABTC is a Chinese mining pool that quickly became prominent with its pioneering services and robust multicoin support. It is the industry’s first innovators such as PPS+, supporting mining across over 20 cryptocurrencies, including BTC, LTC, BCH, ETH and KAS. Today, it serves a global user base of over 1.7 million users in over 150 countries, maintaining its top rankings in hashrates.
6. Braiin’s Pool (4.53%/41,283 blocks)
Founded in November 2010 by Marek Palatinus (originally under the name Bitcoin.cz or Slush Pool), Braiins Pool was the world’s first Bitcoin mining pool. We introduced pooled mining with an innovative “slash style” sharing system, allowing miners to combine computing power to earn predictable rewards. Today, it still maintains its presence in the industry, renowned for its transparency, the use of protocols like Stratum V2, and its contribution to mining decentralization.
7. BTC Guild (3.62% / 32,935 blocks)
Released in 2011, the BTC Guild could command more than 40% of the network’s hashrate, and at times became quickly known as one of the Bitcoin mining pools. Run by software developer Michael Marsee, it played a pivotal role in Bitcoin’s formative years, giving reliable payments to fewer miners. However, in the face of increasing regulatory uncertainty and increasing industrial competition, Pool officially closed its doors in June 2015 after being affected for four years.
8. Pool (3.07% / 27,911 blocks)
Founded in 2017 by former BTC.com executives, Poolin quickly became one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pools, with Hashrate ranked second at one point. Known for its multi-asset mining support and user-friendly service, the pool has attracted global advocates. However, by 2022 it faced problems of liquidity and withdrawal that weakened its advantage, but its peak contributions left a lasting mark in Bitcoin’s mining history.
9. GHASH.IO (2.54%/23,083 blocks)
Ghash.io, run by Crypto Exchange Cex.io, appeared in 2013 as one of the most powerful Bitcoin mining pools of the era. In June 2014, it temporarily surpassed the network’s hashrate 50%, igniting widespread fear of centralization and potential 51% attacks. The pool’s advantage quickly faded, but in 2016 continued scrutiny and competitive pressures closed, solidifying its place in Bitcoin’s early mining history.
10. Binance Pool (2.30% / 20,965 blocks)
Launched by Global Exchange Binance in April 2020, Binance Pool quickly entered the top Bitcoin mining pool ranks, leveraging the platform’s vast user base and financial resources. It offers both job mining and staking services, along with features such as payment of FPP (full payment amount). Despite being a relatively new participant, it has mined tens of thousands of blocks, solidifying itself as a formidable force for the industry.
The Arc of Influence in Bitcoin’s Mining History
Over time, the distribution of mining power reveals not only who shaped the foundations of Bitcoin, but who could have an impact on its future. The balance between decentralization and domination becomes more delicate as the institutional players claim that more hashrates and older entities are declining. The quiet evolution of mining pools may still determine whether Bitcoin remains unreliable or simply controlled by different gatekeepers.
Behind every block mined is a strategic change in technology, governance and ambition. From anonymous pioneers to corporate support pools, Bitcoin chains are a living artifact of economic and ideological competition. Mining is not permitted, but influence arises in patterns, suggesting that power within the network may be more fluid, but not necessarily distributed.
