Foundry’s Role in North American Bitcoin Mining
Bitcoin mining has always been a global competition. In the early days, anyone with a computer could mine Bitcoin. But by the mid-2010s, large mining operations in China controlled nearly 70% of the world’s mining power, called hashrate. China also had all the major manufacturers of mining machines.
At the same time, North America was far behind. It had little mining infrastructure, limited money, and almost no big companies willing to invest. This was the situation when Foundry was created. Supported by Digital Currency Group, Foundry’s goal was clear: build the foundation for Bitcoin mining in North America.
One Foundry team member said, “We didn’t want to be the biggest miner. Our end goal was to build out the ecosystem in North America.”
Building Mining Infrastructure
Back then, banks would not lend money using mining machines as collateral. Entrepreneurs had trouble buying machines because of long waiting lists. Miners in North America often had to connect their mining power to pools in China.
Foundry solved these problems. It started financing programs that treated mining machines as real collateral. It sold machines directly to miners, cutting down delays. In 2020, Foundry launched Foundry USA Pool™, a transparent and professional mining pool based in North America.
Foundry said, “We knew public miners would need to follow rules. That’s why we required KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) for the pool. Some thought this went against Bitcoin’s spirit, but public companies must meet these standards.”
This focus on trust helped bring in big investors. The strategy worked well.
The Impact of China’s Mining Ban
In 2021, China suddenly banned Bitcoin mining. This ban removed almost half of the world’s mining power overnight. Many thought this would hurt Bitcoin badly. But for those in the industry, it showed Bitcoin’s strength.
Foundry said, “If you weren’t paying attention, you might not have noticed. Mining difficulty dropped, profits rose, and North American miners had room to grow.”
Chinese miners moved their operations to other countries. Foundry remembers standing in an Oklahoma field with Chinese miners planning a 100-megawatt mining site.
The ban sped up Foundry’s goal of creating a more spread-out and decentralized mining system. Because North America had built some infrastructure, miners had options when China closed its doors.
Mining and Bitcoin’s Security
Foundry sees a strong link between mining and Bitcoin’s value. They explained, “The value stored on Bitcoin depends on the network’s security.”
They added, “When Bitcoin first reached a trillion-dollar market cap, it had 160 exahash of mining power. Today, it has over 900 exahash. That means the network is almost six times more secure, so it can store more value.”
This creates a cycle: as Bitcoin grows, it needs more security. This leads to more mining machines, more power use, and more miners worldwide. The mining system grows along with Bitcoin’s popularity.
Foundry’s Growing Services
Foundry now offers more than financing and a mining pool. It supports institutional miners with software and on-site services.
The company created a full software suite. This includes Foundry USA Pool, OptiFleet for managing mining machines in real time, and Foundry Firmware to protect and improve hardware performance.
Foundry also runs Site Operations, where teams work at mining locations to improve efficiency.
This mix of software and hands-on help supports miners who operate on a large scale.
Foundry aims to meet the needs of big miners by offering a complete set of tools and services. Their software is built by people who know the Bitcoin mining world well.
Bitcoin’s Human Side
Foundry understands Bitcoin’s unique nature. They said, “Bitcoin is a system that feeds on human greed. But if you get too greedy, it will punish you.”
This is clear in mining. The proof-of-work system makes miners sell some Bitcoin to pay costs. This spreads coins to many people instead of letting a few hold too much. Foundry believes this helps keep the network fair and strong.
Cooperation in Mining
Even with tough competition, miners often work together. Foundry said, “In our case, everybody wins. When the price goes
