CryptoSlate
The United States' estimated Bitcoin mining footprint contracted in the third quarter while Russia's expanded, according to Luxor Technology's Hashrate Index October update. Estimated US hashrate fell from about 345 EH/s to 335 EH/s, cutting its network share from 36.7% to 35.6%, while Russia rose from 162 EH/s to 170 EH/s, lifting its share from 17.2% to 18.1%. China's estimate slipped from about 115 EH/s to 110 EH/s. The global network total stayed nearly flat at roughly 941 EH/s.
Why it matters
The combined share held by the US, Russia and China edged down from 66.2% to 65.4%, a change of less than one percentage point. That means geographic exposure shifted between the two largest mining locations without the network becoming meaningfully more distributed. Country hashrate estimates also describe where computing happens, not who owns the machines or who coordinates block construction, so they cannot establish ownership diversity or pool concentration on their own.
Part of the US decline may reflect miners converting capacity to other workloads. Keel Infrastructure said in August it had decommissioned all its US Bitcoin mining operations ahead of high-performance computing construction, and Core Scientific described repurposing remaining mining sites for high-density colocation. Luxor also cited an Ethiopian power restriction behind that country's decline, though a country-level delta cannot isolate the contribution of rationing or policy.
Market impact
The near-flat global total of about 941 EH/s indicates gains elsewhere offset the US pullback, so the shift says little about whether American miners have recovered operating capacity or improved economics. Miners' growing pivot toward AI and high-performance computing is a structural factor worth tracking: capacity converted to colocation may not return to mining even if conditions improve.
The next useful signals are repeated country observations to confirm persistence, company disclosures that distinguish genuine conversion from temporary curtailment, and ownership and pool data that address who actually controls the capacity.
Frequently asked questions
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How much of Bitcoin mining do the top three countries control?
The US, Russia and China hold a combined 65.4% of estimated network hashrate, down from 66.2% in the prior Hashrate Index edition. The concentration level barely changed even as activity shifted between the countries.
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Which country is gaining Bitcoin mining share?
Russia gained both estimated hashrate and share, rising from 162 EH/s to 170 EH/s and from 17.2% to 18.1% of the network. The US slipped to 35.6% and China to 11.7% over the same period.
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Why is US Bitcoin mining hashrate declining?
Part of the decline tracks miners converting sites to AI and high-performance computing workloads. Keel Infrastructure fully decommissioned its US mining operations for HPC construction, and Core Scientific is repurposing facilities for high-density colocation.
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Does a country's mining share show who controls Bitcoin's network?
No. Country estimates show where computing activity occurs, not who owns the equipment or which pool selects block transactions. Ownership diversity and pool concentration require separate evidence the geographic data cannot provide.
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How is global Bitcoin hashrate trending?
The global network estimate stayed nearly flat, moving from about 940 EH/s to 941 EH/s on a 30-day simple moving average. Gains in some locations offset declines elsewhere, keeping total mining work roughly unchanged.
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