Binance Shuts Bitcoin Mining Pool After Hashrate Drops 65%

Binance closes Bitcoin mining pool amid steep decline in computing power

Crypto exchange Binance is shutting down its Bitcoin mining pool on November 10, citing an ongoing review of its products. Binance Pool had once handled about 2.3% of Bitcoin's network computing power, but that share has fallen sharply over the past year.

According to Hashrate Index data, Binance Pool's computing power dropped from 26 exahashes per second (EH/s) in December to roughly 9.2 EH/s — a decline of about 65%. Its ranking fell from among the top pools to 11th place, with less than 1% of the Bitcoin network's total hash rate now directed at the service.

What miners need to know

• Binance Pool, Pool Savings, Cloud Mining, and its transaction accelerator will close at 7 a.m. UTC on November 10.
• Miners have about four weeks to move their computing power to another provider.
• Pool pages will be permanently removed on November 24.
• Pool Savings users must redeem their positions before the cutoff.
• Anyone awaiting a final payout must complete required identity checks by 11:59 p.m. UTC on November 10.

What Binance said about the closure

Binance announced the shutdown earlier this week, attributing the decision to an ongoing review of its products and services. The exchange did not provide a financial explanation for closing the pool.

The company previously offered miners generous terms, including a $500 million lending program announced in October 2022 that provided secured loans at 5% to 10% interest for 18 to 24 months. The closure notice does not address that program or disclose any outstanding loan balance.

Other exchanges have exited mining pools too

Binance is the latest exchange to leave the mining pool business. SBI Crypto shut its pool on July 31 after accounting for roughly 2% of Bitcoin's computing power. Crypto exchange OKX ended its mining pool services in February 2024.

A December report from Hashrate Index described Binance Pool as the last surviving pool from the period when exchanges expanded into mining operations.

Concerns about network centralization grow

The closures could further concentrate block production among a small number of large pools. Foundry USA, AntPool, and F2Pool together control about 64% of the Bitcoin network's computing power, according to the article.

Why this matters for Bitcoin mining

A mining pool combines computing work from many machines so owners receive regular payments instead of waiting to find a block alone. When pools shut down or shrink, their remaining miners must find new providers — and theBitcoin network's overall security depends on a diverse spread of mining power.