The new leader reached a processing a capacity of 13,378 PH/s at a given time. With the introduction of new mining pools this year, processing has become less centralized.
On September 16th, Bitmain’s mining pool BTC.com lost the first position that it had held for years to another China-based mining pool called Poolin, whose real-time hashrate once reached 13,378 PH/s.
BTC.com, which is supported by the advantages offered by Bitmain’s mining equipment, has remained the largest mining pool for years. In the first half of 2018, the processing capacity of Bitmain’s mining pools (including BTC.com, AntPool and ViaBTC) approached the 51% threshold, which caused massive concern that Bitmain could perform a 51% attack.
However, the computing power used in Bitcoin mining has become more decentralized as smaller pools have been gaining ground since their entry in 2019. Mining pools underwent a significant change in their positioning, especially in the second half of the year, when Poolin gained the second position, and even managed to hold the first position at a certain point in time.
Although BTC.com quickly regained its dominance, the commotion shows that the computing speed in Bitcoin mining has been more widely distributed among major mining pools, and that competition between these large mining pools is becoming fiercer.
Founded in November 2017, Poolin’s rapid rise to the position as the largest mining pool leads to both fear and admiration. Since BTC mining pool came into existence in July 2018, its Bitcoin computing power has been steadily growing. In addition to its increasing Bitcoin computing speed, its LTC and ZEC computing speed have consistently positioned it as the number 1 mining pool all over the world.
Poolin made its latest disclosure when its co-founders (CEO Zhibiao Pan, COO Fa Zhu, and CTO Tianzhao Li), three former Bitmain employees who helped establish BTC.com, were sued by Bitmain for allegedly violating the non-compete agreement.
At the time of writing this article, the data show that BTC.com’s computing speed has experienced a growth of 0.37%. However, Poolin’s computing speed has declined by 2.99%, whilst the real-time reading of its computing speed is 13,069 PH/s and that of BTC.com’s computing speed is 13,560 PH/s. In regards to the distribution of processing capacity, BTC.com shows a balance of 18.0% in the last week, followed by Poolin with a share of 15.2%, while the oldest mining pool in China, F2Pool, holds the third position with a balance of 13.8%.
Since their beginning at the end of 2010, mining pools have grown and shrunk. According to incomplete statistical data, nearly 20 formerly renowned mining pools have decided to close. In the meantime, mining pools established in China continue to dominate the market with a share of over 75%.
Users seeking a Bitcoin mining pool with a higher real-time processing capacity now have Poolin. Since its birth it has proven efficient in the computing speed of BTC and some other cryptocurrencies, which has caused its competitors to fear and admire it. However, it should be remembered that mining pools rise and fall, and there are several alternatives for Bitcoin users worldwide.
By Willmen Blanco
