As China intensifies efforts to boost its global economic position, the Asian country has a sprawling crypto mining sector that is competing with that of the United States. On Monday, China took a leading spot in Bitcoin mining after renowned crypto miner AntPool mined nearly a third of the total blocks within 24 hours.
US Loses Ground As Chinese Miner AntPool Mines More BTC
Statistic from mempool.space indicated that AntPool shifted its focus to increase block production and strengthen its mining capabilities. The shift in AntPool’s top agenda was fruitful on September 22, when the Bitcoin miner generated 42 blocks out of 135.
The notable intraday output positions AntPool as the leading Bitcoin miner, outpacing its top rival, Foundry. Mempool.space charts show that Foundry mined 36 blocks, followed by ViaBTC with 13.5 blocks.
Other miners, including Marathon Digital and F2Pool, mined less than 13 blocks in a day. Data from mempool.space demonstrated that AntPool held a significant position driving the mining powers to China.
Conversely, the Foundry has fought to restore US superiority by pushing its hashrate beyond standard measures. Mempool.space shows that Foundry and AntPool hashrate reached 29.67% and 22.75%, respectively.
Will AntPool Dominate Bitcoin Mining?
Reportedly, the US holds approximately 40% of the BTC network hashrate housing major crypto miners. The increase in crypto mining activities in the US has impacted power concerns.
A recent report by the American Energy Information Administration stated that Bitcoin mining consumed 0.6% to 2.3% of the total power last year. The energy regulators argued that the power used to mine Bitcoin could power several states in the US.
High power consumption has forced Bitcoin miners to shift to renewable energy to reduce operational costs. Also, Bitcoin miners such as AntPool are leveraging the power of emerging technologies to dominate the mining industry.
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The Chinese miner owns an affiliate company, BitMain, that develops advanced Bitcoin mining rigs. Through its collaboration with the subsidiary AntPool, it has optimized Bitcoin mining.
Impact of Centralized Mining to Crypto
However, the unfavourable conditions in China, such as its anti-crypto stance, have undermined AntPool’s global competitiveness, giving the US dominance over the industry. A recent report shows that the US mined over a quarter of all BTC issued from 2021 up to date.
As the two companies compete to dominate Bitcoin mining, experts have shared different opinions on Foundry and AntPool mining capabilities.
A statement from the renowned Bitcoin Core Developer Luke Dash Jr. stated that following the 2024 Bitcoin halving, a major shift has been witnessed in BTC mining.
The developer explained that 12 blocks take at least two hours for the transaction to be considered safe and secure. He noted that it was possible to mine three to six blocks in 30 to 60 minutes with the recent development.
In a subsequent report, renowned Bitcoin researcher b10c (@0xb10c argued that AntPool has significantly contributed to increased mining activities, surpassing the standard safe measure for block mining.
Community Express Concerns
In support of this, a group of Bitcoin enthusiasts, Mononaut, backed the researcher’s statement with an independent investigation. The Mononaut observed that six Bitcoin miners could share a custodian and block template with AntPool. The Mononaut envisioned AntPool to fuel the centralization of BTC mining, which poses a risk to the entire crypto market.
The Mononaut argued that centralization for Bitcoin mining could affect the BTC proposition value and market performance. The Mononaut investigative report ignited heated dialogue among key stakeholders who demanded to know whether Bitcoin mining is still decentralized.
Some Bitcoin enthusiasts have questioned the integrity of mining crypto assets. Others expressed concerns that centralizing BTC mining could lead to security breaches that could directly impact BTC prices and loss of customers’ confidence.
For more updates on how the centralization of Bitcoin mining will impact crypto’s future, follow The Bitjournal on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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