According to Cointelegraph, Foundry, the largest Bitcoin mining pool globally, has announced a significant reduction in its workforce as part of a strategic restructuring plan. On December 3, a source familiar with the situation revealed that Foundry has laid off 27% of its employees. This includes 16% of its workforce based in the United States and a portion of its team in India. The decision comes amid plans by Foundry's parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), to spin out Foundry's self-mining business into a separate entity, which will still be under DCG's control. This move was outlined in a shareholder letter from November.
Foundry stated that the restructuring aims to refocus on its core operations, which include maintaining its position as the leading Bitcoin mining pool and expanding its site operations business. The company emphasized that the layoffs were a difficult but necessary step in realigning its business strategy. Foundry USA, the company's mining pool, currently holds about one-third of the market share among pool operators, as reported by Hashrate Index. Additionally, Foundry's self-mining business is projected to generate nearly $80 million in sales by 2024, according to DCG's November investor report. DCG expressed confidence that the self-mining business would thrive as a standalone entity and mentioned plans to bring in external hires to raise capital.
The broader Bitcoin mining industry is undergoing adjustments as miners seek to cut costs and integrate artificial intelligence technologies in response to the network's April halving. These halvings, which occur every four years, reduce the number of Bitcoins mined per block by half, increasing the cost and difficulty of mining. Despite these challenges, miners continue to invest in new infrastructure and plan for expansion, anticipating future price increases, as noted in CoinShares' Q3 mining report.
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