Four major Bitcoin mining pools Foundry Digital, AntPool, ViaBTC, and F2Pool accounted for more than 70% of the network's hashrate as of June 23, 2026, according to data from miningpoolstats.stream. This concentration signals a shift toward a market dominated by institutional clients, challenging smaller and independent miners.
Market Concentration and Institutional Focus
The distribution among the four pools was notably uneven: Foundry Digital led with 31% of the hashrate, followed by AntPool at 18%, ViaBTC at 13%, and F2Pool with 10%. Foundry Digital, based in the US and supported by Digital Currency Group, caters mainly to large-scale and publicly traded mining operations and imposes strict Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols on its users.
This concentration has created what industry observers describe as a "two-tier market." Larger pools optimize their services for institutional miners who require predictable payouts and dedicated support, while smaller miners face increased difficulty in competing. This disparity is prompting many independent operators to reconsider which pools they connect their devices to.
ViaBTC’s regulatory scrutiny in 2026 has also contributed to miners exploring alternatives such as EMCD, which promotes lower fees of 1.5% using the FPPS payout method.
A recent analysis by D-Central pointed out that Bitcoin’s Nakamoto coefficient dropped to 3 in the first half of 2026, intensifying concerns over mining centralization.
As Bitcoin mining evolves, the network is increasingly controlled by a few dominant players, which could influence the decentralization that underpins the blockchain’s security and resilience.
This material is for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice.
