CoinDesk
SBI Crypto will shut down its Bitcoin mining pool on July 31, 2026, ending a service that currently accounts for roughly 2% of the network's total hashrate, according to Hashrateindex data. Miners connected to the pool must redirect their machines before the cutoff; shares submitted after July 31 will not be accepted, and the firm said the pool will operate normally up to the shutdown date. SBI Crypto urged customers to keep contributing until the cutoff so eligible shares are counted in the final payout.
The pool is run by SBI Crypto, a subsidiary of Japan's SBI Group, one of the country's largest financial conglomerates. It opened to the public in 2021, with SBI backing it at the time with roughly 1.1 EH/s of its own mining power. The shutdown notice did not disclose a reason for the closure, and the company has not published updated hashrate figures for the pool.
Why it matters
A 2% slice of Bitcoin's hashrate is not trivial: it ranks SBI Crypto among the larger pools, and a forced migration of that volume on a fixed date concentrates a short window of disruption on rival pools. Miners left without a configured fallback risk brief orphan time if payouts, latency, or fee structures at their next pool differ materially. The closure also lands on a Japanese regulated financial group that launched the pool as a legitimacy play for institutional mining; exiting the business quietly is itself a read on the unit economics.
SBI Crypto was linked last year to a reported $21 million hack, with blockchain investigator ZachXBT pointing to attack patterns similar to North Korean state-backed operations. The shutdown notice does not cite the incident as a cause, and the company has not commented on whether the two events are connected.
Market impact
The shutdown arrives with bitcoin mining already under pressure from lower margins, volatile hashrate, and rising power and infrastructure costs. Network hashrate has been pulling back from its October peak as the spot price weakens and some operators pivot capacity toward AI compute.
Frequently asked questions
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When is SBI Crypto shutting down its Bitcoin mining pool?
The pool will stop accepting mining shares on July 31, 2026. Shares submitted after that cutoff will not be counted, and SBI said the pool will operate normally up to the shutdown date.
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How much of Bitcoin's hashrate does SBI Crypto's pool represent?
Roughly 2% of the Bitcoin network's total hashrate, per Hashrateindex data cited by SBI Crypto. The firm has not published updated hashrate figures for the pool.
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Why is SBI Crypto closing the mining pool?
SBI Crypto did not disclose a reason in its shutdown notice. The exit comes amid pressure on bitcoin mining margins from falling prices, volatile hashrate, and rising operational costs.
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Was SBI Crypto's mining pool ever hacked?
SBI Crypto was linked last year to a reported $21 million hack. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT pointed to attack patterns similar to North Korean state-backed operations. The shutdown notice does not cite the incident as a reason for closing the pool.
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Who operates SBI Crypto's mining pool?
SBI Crypto is a subsidiary of SBI Group, one of Japan's largest financial conglomerates. The pool opened to the public in 2021, with SBI initially backing it with roughly 1.1 EH/s of its own mining power.
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