Foundry USA unexpectedly mined eight Bitcoin blocks in a row, a streak that stood out on explorers’ and social feeds. Controlling roughly a 3rd of the community’s hashrate, the pool’s run was unlikely however nonetheless doable.
Abstract
- Foundry USA mined eight Bitcoin blocks straight, from heights 910,500 to 910,507, in a run that grabbed crypto feeds.
- With roughly 36% of the community’s hashrate and a couple of 30% share of energetic pool exercise, the chances of this streak had been round 1 in 12,000 — however nonetheless throughout the realm of probability.
- The run reveals how just a few massive swimming pools can briefly seize a number of blocks in a row, underlining ongoing centralization considerations in Bitcoin mining.
A uncommon streak of eight consecutive Bitcoin (BTC) blocks — from heights 910,500 to 910,507 — briefly drew consideration throughout feeds and block explorers. The repeated look of a single miner made the sample laborious to disregard. The consecutive blocks had been putting: one mining pool, Foundry USA, appeared throughout eight entries in a row, the sample that was so clear and simple to note, that it rapidly grew to become the main target of consideration.
Measurement issues
As of late 2024, Foundry USA managed roughly 36.5% of the Bitcoin community’s complete hashrate, translating to about 280 exahashes per second (EH/s). This dominance positions Foundry USA as the most important mining pool globally, surpassing rivals like Chinese language Antpool and Luxor Pool.
Mining swimming pools by their share | Supply: Hashrate Index
As of press time, Foundry USA is reported to be one of many largest public mining swimming pools, showing on most trackers with roughly a 31% share of reported pool exercise, per knowledge from Hashrate Index. That reported slice meant Foundry USA was plausibly discovering about three out of each 10 blocks on common in that interval. The pool’s relative scale is the essential factual context that frames the streak as notable relatively than inexplicable.
- A fast calculation utilizing a ~30% pool share reveals the chances of the identical pool mining eight consecutive blocks are roughly 0.008%, or about 1 in 12,000.
In different phrases, the streak was uncommon however not remarkable. It appeared like a fortunate roll of the cube for an enormous pool, not a takeover of the community.
Low-fee backdrop
The run occurred amid reviews and block-explorer snapshots displaying unusually low transaction charges and plenty of evenly crammed blocks in current moments. Price charges had been typically reported in low single digits of satoshis per digital byte, and a variety of current blocks carried a comparatively small variety of transactions.
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In that surroundings, miner income leaned closely on the fastened subsidy relatively than on charges, and any miner that occurred to seize a number of consecutive blocks would repeatedly accumulate the identical commonplace subsidy whereas including little further payment revenue for every block.
Every of the eight blocks carried the acquainted structural components recorded throughout all mined blocks:
- a header;
- a coinbase reward;
- and no matter transactions occurred to be included.
The notable element within the public document was merely the repeated attribution to a single pool throughout successive heights. That repetition, seen in explorers and mempool logs, produced the clear knowledge level that circulated: a contiguous vary of blocks credited to Foundry.
Historic parallels
There have been precedents for sharp public reactions when single swimming pools approached massive fractions of hashing energy.
Earlier episodes in Bitcoin’s historical past drew comparable consideration when distinguished swimming pools dominated a big share of reported capability. These moments prompted public scrutiny and generally speedy responses from operators and the broader neighborhood. The chain continued to document its blocks in the identical method via these episodes, leaving the general public document as the first proof.
Seeing the identical pool listed for eight blocks in a row appeared putting as a result of it gives the look of concentrated energy. That sample made some fear about centralization, though the mathematics confirmed it was throughout the regular vary for an enormous pool.
Foundry USA simply mined eight blocks consecutively. That is extraordinarily alarming! Even many Bitcoiners I do know are beginning to panic.
I’ve been warning individuals for years: Bitcoin is dangerously centralized. A tiny group of miners and insiders dominate each the community and its worth,… pic.twitter.com/OOYo17X9Rn
— Jacob King (@JacobKinge) August 18, 2025
The episode settles into the bigger circulate of anomalies and a focus cycles that repeatedly go via the house. As CoinMetrics options engineer Parker Merritt wrote earlier, Bitcoin mining pool centralization stays a “top-of-mind concern within the Bitcoin neighborhood,” as even at face worth, the overwhelming majority of mining rewards “being funneled to only two swimming pools (Foundry & AntPool) elevates threat components like censorship and community disruption.”
Learn extra: Bitcoin mining faces surging energy calls for and record-low charges
