Key Takeaways:
SBI Crypto will shut down its Bitcoin mining pool on July 31, forcing miners controlling roughly 2 percent of the network's hashrate to find new operators.
The pool, which accounts for about 19.1 EH/s or 1.97 percent of Bitcoin's total hashrate, will stop accepting mining shares at 07:00 JST on the cutoff date (22:00 UTC July 30), according to a notice signed by Chief Executive Officer Hiroaki Morita.
SBI Crypto, the mining arm of Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Group, opened the pool to public miners in 2021 with about 1.1 EH/s of its own mining power. The company did not disclose a reason for the closure, which comes as Bitcoin miners face compressed margins following a 50 percent decline in the cryptocurrency's price from its all-time high reached in the fall. The pool ranked 11th among Bitcoin mining pools by hashrate, per Hashrate Index data.
The shutdown will redistribute roughly 19.1 EH/s of hashing power to alternative pools. SBI Crypto directed miners to Braiins, Luxor Pool and NeoPool as potential destinations, though it did not endorse any specific operator. The migration adds to an already concentrated market where the top three pools — Foundry USA, AntPool and F2Pool — together control about 57.6 percent of network hashrate, according to Hashrate Index.
The company urged customers to continue mining with the pool until the cutoff so eligible shares are included in the final payout calculation. Shares submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
SBI Crypto was also linked to a reported $21 million hack in October 2025, with blockchain investigator ZachXBT pointing to signs similar to North Korean state-backed attacks. The shutdown notice does not cite the incident as a reason for closing the pool.
The closure comes as SBI Holdings expands its broader cryptocurrency strategy beyond mining. The company recently agreed to acquire full control of crypto exchange Bitbank in a 46.7 billion Japanese yen ($289 million) deal and has been increasing its focus on stablecoins, backing JPYSC, a new trust bank-backed Japanese yen stablecoin.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
