The Bitcoin ecosystem faces a significant concentration of mining power, reminiscent of the 2014 crisis with Ghash.io. Although the hash rate is currently spread among three leading mining pools—Foundry, AntPool, and ViaBTC—the centralization of block formation remains a pressing concern. With these pools contributing to over 50% of the hash rate, Alejandro de la Torre, CEO of one of the pools, emphasizes the risks posed by government interventions targeting mining pool operators. The possibility of coordinated actions against these operators could endanger the integrity of Bitcoin, highlighting the stark contrast between the decentralization of Bitcoin protocol and the concentrated power in mining pools. De la Torre advocates for decentralizing the block creation process, moving the responsibility to individual miners within the pools, thereby decreasing vulnerability to external influence. This shift could ensure that blocks are built by diverse miners across different jurisdictions, mitigating risks associated with government oversight.

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