SBI Crypto, a major Japanese Bitcoin mining pool, pulled the plug on its mining pool service on July 31, 2026. The shutdown marks the end of a steady decline: the pool's seven-day average hashrate had fallen 64% in a month, from 16.222 EH/s on June 30 to just 5.817 EH/s by July 30. On its final day, SBI Crypto's 24-hour average hashrate sat at about 0.452 EH/s, and its last block was mined on July 29.
Hashrate slide
The drop wasn't sudden. SBI Crypto's hashrate had been eroding for weeks. By the time the pool shut down, it was barely a blip on the network. The 64% month-over-month decline suggests miners had already moved their rigs elsewhere, likely to larger pools offering steadier payouts. The pool's exit leaves a hole in the Japanese mining scene, but the network itself won't feel it — the hashrate has simply redistributed.
Top pools' share
At the moment of SBI Crypto's shutdown, Foundry USA, AntPool, and F2Pool collectively held 60.01% of attributed Bitcoin blocks. That's a momentary reading, but it's down from earlier in July. In the week ending July 20, the top three had a combined 64.8039% of blocks. In the incomplete July 27 bucket, that share had slipped to 60.7843%. Individual pool movements varied: Foundry, AntPool, and F2Pool each showed lower estimated hashrate in that partial bucket, while Luxor rose, Braiins fell, and NeoPool was absent entirely.
Broader context
The shutdown comes months after a rare Bitcoin two-block reorg on March 25, 2026, which briefly rattled confidence in chain stability. And a report from May 21, 2026, highlighted the growing role of Bitcoin DeFi — a trend that may have drawn some miners toward pools with more flexible financial products. SBI Crypto's exit doesn't directly tie to either event, but it adds to a year of shifting pool dynamics.
What's next? The top three pools' combined share will likely keep fluctuating as miners chase fees and pool features. With SBI Crypto gone, the remaining mid-tier pools — like Luxor and Braiins — have a chance to grab more share, but they'll need to offer something the big three don't. The next weekly block distribution will show whether the concentration tightens or loosens.
