Bitmain's Antpool, has outpaced Foundry USA, becoming the leading bitcoin mining pool for the first time since January 2022.
Antpool, according to bitcoin's network data, mined 1,219 blocks in November, slightly edging out Foundry USA's 1,216.
The total rewards for Antpool's miners stood at 8,672 BTC, excluding 83.6 BTC earmarked for refunds.
SEE: Antpool overtakes Foundry USA, credits TheMinerMag
Foundry's parent company, Digital Currency Group, continues to faces challenges as Bitmain's new mining rigs flood the market.
Shifting Positions
Foundry USA has held the top spot among mining pools since early 2022, riding the wave of North American mining operations' ascent following China's 2021 crackdown.
Antpool, consistently at the second spot, began closing the gap around June.
This coincided with Bitmain's massive shipment of over 4,800 metric tons of Antminer S19XP and S19XP Hydro to its U.S. subsidiary in Georgia from June to November.
Records from estimate a total hashrate exceeding 37 EH/s from these shipments.
The precise activation of Bitmain's imported hashrate remains unclear, with the company temporarily halting employee paychecks in October due to "unsatisfactory performance metrics."
This raises questions about whether Bitmain deployed miners for its own benefit.
Consistent Delay in Reporting
Despite Antpool leading in blocks mined, BTC.com's data reveals a consistent lag in the company's self-reported real-time hashrate compared to Foundry USA's in the past three months.
The cause of this discrepancy, whether due to luck variance or reporting error, remains uncertain.