3 countries control 66% of Bitcoin mining, but 1 rival is gaining

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.

A smaller US share leaves the same three leaders

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.