Binance is ending operations of its Bitcoin mining pool after the service’s computing power dropped approximately 65% from its December level. Miners still using the platform will need to transfer their operations to alternative providers before November 10.
According to Hashrate Index, Binance Pool had a hashrate of approximately 26 exahashes per second (EH/s) in December, representing around 2.3% of Bitcoin’s total computing power. Its latest hashrate has declined to roughly 9.2 EH/s, accounting for less than 1% of the network and placing the pool in 11th position. The figures indicate a reduction of about 65% in its computing capacity.
An exahash per second measures one quintillion computational attempts every second to solve the mathematical problem required to mine a Bitcoin block. Mining pools bring together computing resources from multiple machines, enabling miners to share rewards more consistently instead of waiting to discover blocks on their own.
Binance Pool previously used a full pay-per-share (FPPS) payment model. Under this arrangement, miners received payments based on the work they contributed, while the pool operator absorbed the risk associated with producing fewer blocks than anticipated.
Earlier this week, Binance announced that it would discontinue Binance Pool, Pool Savings, Cloud Mining, its transaction accelerator and related services at 7 a.m. UTC on November 10. The company attributed the move to an ongoing review of its products and services but did not explain the financial considerations behind the decision.
Participants have until the shutdown date to redirect their mining equipment to other providers. Binance will stop accepting mining shares after the deadline. These records measure the work miners contribute and are used to calculate their rewards. Users with funds in Pool Savings must redeem their positions, while customers awaiting final payments must complete any outstanding identity verification by 11:59 p.m. UTC on November 10.
The exchange will remove the pool’s webpages permanently on November 24. Customers will therefore have another two weeks after the shutdown to retrieve their records and check the status of pending payments.
Binance’s Exit Follows Its Earlier Push to Finance Miners
Binance previously supported the expansion of the Bitcoin mining industry through financing initiatives. In October 2022, the exchange introduced a $500 million lending program through Binance Pool to help mining companies fund their operations and growth.
The program offered secured loans with terms of 18 to 24 months and interest rates ranging from 5% to 10%. The latest closure announcement did not address whether the shutdown would affect the lending initiative or provide details about any outstanding loan balances.
Fewer Major Mining Pools Remain Available
Binance joins several other companies that have withdrawn from Bitcoin mining pool services. SBI Crypto closed its pool on July 31 after accounting for roughly 2% of the network’s computing power. OKX, another cryptocurrency exchange, discontinued its mining pool services in February 2024.
Hashrate Index’s December report described Binance Pool as the last remaining pool from the period when major cryptocurrency exchanges expanded into the mining sector.
Poolin, which once controlled close to 20% of Bitcoin’s global hashrate, filed for bankruptcy in July with approximately $173 million in liabilities. Its difficulties included frozen wallet funds and stalled mining projects in Texas. Its share of Bitcoin’s total hashrate, however, had already fallen close to zero years before its bankruptcy filing.
The latest data suggest that an increasing proportion of Bitcoin block production is concentrated among a handful of major pools. Foundry USA, AntPool and F2Pool collectively accounted for approximately 64.2% of the network in Hashrate Index’s latest figures. In December, the three largest pools held a combined 61.4%, with ViaBTC ranking third instead of F2Pool.
Mining pools generally determine which transactions their participating machines attempt to confirm. The departure of established providers can reduce miners’ choices and increase the concentration of influence over transaction selection and Bitcoin block production.
However, miners can redirect their equipment to smaller pools, and a pool’s share of the network does not necessarily indicate ownership of the machines supplying its computing power.
If Binance Pool’s remaining hashrate were transferred entirely to Foundry USA, AntPool and F2Pool, their combined share would increase to around 65%, assuming the rest of the network remained unchanged. Binance has not revealed which mining pools its remaining participants are expected to join.
