Over the past year, Foundry USA emerged as the foremost bitcoin mining contributor, mining 16,492 out of a total of 54,002 blocks.
The mining community saw 27 difficulty adjustments, mainly increases, reaching a record-setting hashrate of 545 EH/s on December 24, 2023.
Updates on Bitcoin Mining
Bitcoin miners collectively unearthed over 54,000 blocks in 2023, each containing 6.25 bitcoins and associated fees.
Primary mining pools, including Foundry, Antpool, F2pool, Viabtc, and Binance Pool, were major contributors, responsible for 45,707 block rewards, consolidating over 84% of all BTC blocks.
Luxor, btc.com, and Braiins Pool contributed 3.9% of the total blocks, adding diversity to significant contributors.
The year also reported 147 empty blocks, approximately 0.27% of the total, with Antpool, F2pool, and Viabtc being primary sources.
There was also an exponential increase in Bitcoin miners' capabilities, resulting in the all-time highest hashrate of 545 EH/s.
Unprecedented hashrates were achieved through advanced-generation miners introduced by industry players like Bitmain, Canaan, Microbt, and Auradine.
These can run over 375 TH/s, demonstrating increased power and superior efficiency with ratings below 20 J/T.
Increased Efficency Against Halving
Over the year, Foundry, Antpool, and F2pool reported substantial hashrate increases.
Respectively, Foundry reached 147 EH/s from 71.84 EH/s, Antpool grew from 49.95 EH/s to 139 EH/s, and F2pool increasing from 31.99 EH/s in December 2022 to 62.27 EH/s.
Despite the halving event expected to occur in April 2024, the industry continues to display resilience and advancement throughout 2023.