3 countries control 66% of Bitcoin mining, but 1 rival is gaining
Hashrate Index's October comparison still puts about two-thirds of estimated hashrate in three countries, without measuring ownership or pool control. The post 3 countries control 66% of Bitcoin mining, but 1 rival is gaining appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Bitcoin's estimated US mining footprint shrank as Russia's grew, with little change in top-three country concentration.
Hashrate Index's Oct. 5 country estimates put the US at about 335 EH/s, down from 345 EH/s in the previous edition, while Russia rose from 162 to 170 EH/s.
The US, Russia and China still account for roughly 66% of the estimated network. Their combined share slipped by about 0.8%, even as the global hashrate estimate stayed almost flat.
That is a modest change in geographic concentration, with a clearer shift in the balance between the two largest mining locations.
Luxor Technology's mining data platform Hashrate Index labels the report its fourth-quarter update, but the figures describe observations from the preceding third quarter. Its July 16 comparison edition described June estimates.
The October publication is neither a completed fourth-quarter result nor a live census of where machines are operating on Oct. 6.
The comparison separates absolute mining activity from network share. Estimated US hashrate declined as its share fell from 36.7% to 35.6%, while Russia gained both estimated hashrate and share, rising from 17.2% to 18.1%. China's estimate declined from about 115 to 110 EH/s.
| Location or metric | July edition | October edition |
|---|---|---|
| United States | About 345 EH/s; 36.7% | About 335 EH/s; 35.6% |
| Russia | About 162 EH/s; 17.2% | About 170 EH/s; 18.1% |
| China | About 115 EH/s; 12.2% | About 110 EH/s; 11.7% |
| Global network | About 940 EH/s | About 941 EH/s |
The network total is a 30-day simple moving average of hashrate, the computing work devoted to mining.
The provider's methodology summary describes a weighted combination of pool data, ASIC trading flows, and firmware adoption trends.
Cambridge's separate mining-map methodology warns that a pool sample may be unrepresentative and that VPNs or proxies can distort inferred location.
Hashrate Index's October comparison puts the top three countries' combined share at 65.4%, down from 66.2%. Calculating from the rounded EH/s inputs reproduces approximately that 0.8% decline. The resulting balance leaves the US with a smaller share and Russia with a larger one, while the same three countries remain dominant.
July's printed country shares add to 66.1%, while the rounded EH/s figures reproduce the provider's 66.2% aggregate after rounding. These differences are distinct from sampling or estimation error, and the comparison provides no confidence range to demonstrate statistical significance.
A smaller estimated US share reduces the portion attributed to that jurisdiction, while a larger Russian share increases the portion attributed to Russia. Those movements change exposure to particular locations without showing that the network has acquired many more independent sources of mining capacity.
Machines switching off in one country and other machines switching on elsewhere can change the distribution without the same equipment moving between them. The country totals do not establish a transfer from the US to Russia.