Bitcoin Mining without Pool KYC: How Your Bitaxe Escapes Centralization
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By Dominik Lederer, Founder Polarblocks. As of: July 20, 2026.
In a nutshell
Four mining pools collectively control over 70 percent of the global Bitcoin hashrate, according to data from miningpoolstats.stream (as of end of June 2026): Foundry Digital around 31 percent, AntPool around 18 percent, ViaBTC around 13 percent, F2Pool around 10 percent. All four require KYC and primarily target institutional large-scale clients.
A Bitaxe Gamma 601 in a living room does not participate in this concentration at all. Solo mining operates without registration, without identity documents, and without a minimum hashrate via open endpoints like Solo CKPool or Public Pool.
The individual chance of finding a block is approximately 1 in 13,037 per year (range 1 in 12,876 to 1 in 13,283, depending on network hashrate between 880 and 908 EH/s, as of July 2026). The current block value is approximately 176,736 Euros (3.125 BTC, exchange rate 56,555.40 Euros, BTC-ECHO, July 20, 2026).
What has just happened in the Bitcoin mining pool landscape?
Four companies now hold leverage that no one could wield alone before. Foundry Digital, AntPool, ViaBTC, and F2Pool together bundle more than 70 percent of the total computing power in the Bitcoin network. This is not a side note from an industry blog, but a figure that comes directly from the raw data of miningpoolstats.stream and was collected at the end of June 2026. If you're wondering why this is more than just shop talk for stock analysts: Bitcoin was designed as a system without a central control authority. If four companies can influence almost three-quarters of block production, this very foundation is shaken a bit.
More interesting for everyday life is a second effect, which usually goes unnoticed in the headlines. The large pools have tailored their entire business model to institutional clients. Publicly traded mining companies operating thousands of machines receive individually negotiated fees and a personal contact person. Individuals running a handful of devices end up in the automated ticketing system.
Who are Foundry, AntPool, ViaBTC, and F2Pool anyway?
Foundry Digital leads the field with around 31 percent of the network hashrate, funded by the Digital Currency Group and based in the USA. Strict KYC checks, a focus on compliance, and individually negotiated fees are not a coincidence, but part of the program: Foundry is built for public companies with auditing obligations, not for a home office desk.
AntPool holds about 18 percent and benefits from its parent company Bitmain, the world's largest ASIC manufacturer. Technically solid, but practically designed for large data centers. If you have an individual question that doesn't fit into the standard form, you often wait a long time for a human response.
ViaBTC accounts for approximately 13 percent and is the only one of the four to also offer pooled solo mining, making it technically the most flexible. However, in 2026, there were increasing reports of account suspensions and new KYC requirements, especially for users from Russia and other CIS states. F2Pool, finally, on the market since 2013 and thus one of the oldest providers, holds around 10 percent and scores with a globally distributed infrastructure, which is also designed for large, experienced operators.
Does this even affect me as an owner of a living room miner?
In short: no, and that's precisely the real point. A Bitaxe Gamma 601 plays no role in this statistic because it's in a completely different game. Pool mining in the sense of Foundry, AntPool, ViaBTC, and F2Pool means that thousands of machines bundle their computing power and share rewards proportionally to the hashrate contributed. This is precisely why you need accounts, minimum thresholds, and eventually identity verification, because real money flows in real amounts.
Solo mining with a Bitaxe Home Solo Miner works differently. The device connects to an open endpoint like Solo CKPool or Public Pool, submits its proof of work there, and if successful, receives the entire block reward, not a proportional fraction. There is no account in the classic sense, no ID upload, no minimum hashrate, and no fee negotiation. You are either the finder or you are not.
What is the real difference between Pool Mining and Solo Mining?
Pool mining is a subscription with interim payments. You regularly receive small amounts, proportional to the computing power contributed, and the variance is smoothed out across all participants. This is precisely why a business model with KYC, minimum deposits, and a compliance department is worthwhile for large pools: it's about reliable, predictable cash flows for shareholders.
Solo mining is a lottery ticket. No interim results, no smoothed curve, just a binary event that occurs with a very low probability and then pays out everything at once. A single Bitaxe with 1.3 TH/s at a current network hashrate of around 891 EH/s (range 880 to 908 EH/s, CoinWarz and minerstat, mid-July 2026) has a hit chance of about 1 in 13,037 per year. This is mathematically no better than before; it is just structurally independent of the question of what percentage Foundry or AntPool currently controls.
What are the real chances with a Bitaxe Gamma 601?
52,560 blocks are created in the Bitcoin network per year, six per hour, around the clock. Your share of the total hashrate determines how often you statistically find one. With 1.3 TH/s and a network hashrate of 891 EH/s, your hashrate share is approximately 1.459 times 10 to the power of minus 9. Multiplied by 52,560 blocks, this results in an expected hit rate of approximately 0.0000767 per year, or a 1 in 13,037 chance. Depending on the daily hashrate snapshot, this value fluctuates between 1 in 12,876 and 1 in 13,283.
If you hit, the profit is not proportional but complete: 3.125 BTC block reward plus transaction fees, currently totaling about 176,736 Euros at an exchange rate of 56,555.40 Euros (BTC-ECHO, July 20, 2026, exchange rate dependent). The expected value per year is theoretically about 13.55 Euros, which doesn't even cover electricity costs of about 52 Euros per year. This figure belongs in the article just as much as the nice profit sum, otherwise it would be advertising and not an honest calculation.
Is it worth switching from a pool to solo mining?
Economically speaking: no, at least not in terms of a guaranteed return. If you want reliable, small payouts, a pool with low fees is a better choice, regardless of the concentration debate. But solo mining with a Bitaxe was never intended as a substitute for a pool account. It is the decision to opt out of a system that is increasingly geared towards identity verification, minimum thresholds, and institutional client relationships, and instead run a device on your desk that owes accountability to no one but your own electricity meter.
This is precisely where the concentration debate meets the five core beliefs that drive this store: sovereignty, a device that doesn't disrupt the living room, honest numbers instead of hype, the allure of a real, tangible lottery ticket, and consumption that frightens no one. Four corporations controlling three-quarters of the hashrate are no cause for panic. They are a reason why the option of being completely outside this system is worth more now than it was two years ago.
| Criterion | Bitaxe Gamma 601 | Classic Lottery | 3,500-watt Industrial Miner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chances of winning per year | 52,560 individual draws per year, around the clock, no need to visit a kiosk: the chance is around 1 in 13,037, recalculated every night | Two fixed drawing dates per week, jackpot chances in classic lotteries are often in the tens of millions to one | Mathematically better odds due to massively higher hashrate, but no tangible experience, just a rack in an industrial area |
| Running costs in the home office | Around 4.34 Euros per month in electricity costs at 17 watts continuous operation, hardly more than a router | No electricity consumption, but ongoing expenditure per draw with no possibility of return | Significantly over 800 Euros per month at German household electricity prices, practically impossible for private households |
| Drawer risk (boredom factor) | Runs inconspicuously and quietly on the desk, AxeOS dashboard provides a real reason to check it daily | Paper is usually discarded on the drawing day, no lasting object, no curiosity between dates | Requires its own room, ventilation concept, and noise protection, never ends up in the living room, at best in the basement |
| Learning effect & blockchain fascination to touch | Own difficulty, own hashrate history, own block template visible live in the browser, blockchain becomes concrete instead of abstract | No insight into the mechanics behind it, pure waiting for a result that cannot be influenced or understood | Technically fascinating, but hardly accessible or operable for private individuals without specialists |
Before you choose a miner
Which Bitaxe Edition suits your living room, your electricity tariff, and your patience is not an gut decision. The ultimate Home Miner Guide honestly compares all editions, cooling setups, and operating costs side-by-side.
"Four corporations controlling three-quarters of the Bitcoin hashrate don't change a single decimal point in the odds calculation of an individual Bitaxe. They only change how much a machine that doesn't need to ask anyone for permission is worth."
How do I check myself how concentrated the Bitcoin hashrate currently is?
If you don't want to take the four pools at their word from a blog post, you can check for yourself in a few minutes.
- Open Miningpoolstats.stream and sort the list of active pools by network share.
- Add the percentage values of the four largest entries; currently, Foundry Digital, AntPool, ViaBTC, and F2Pool together account for over 70 percent.
- For comparison, divide your own Bitaxe hashrate of 1.3 TH/s by the current network hashrate in EH/s, converted to the same unit.
- Multiply the result by 52,560 blocks per year; the reciprocal is your own hit chance for the current year.
Does a Bitaxe for solo mining even require registration?
No. Solo CKPool and Public Pool only require a Bitcoin address to which payouts will be made if successful. No ID, no account, no minimum hashrate, no waiting time for activation.
What happens to my Bitaxe if a pool like Foundry gets even bigger?
Nothing. Your own hit chance depends exclusively on the ratio of your own hashrate to the total network hashrate, not on how the network hashrate is distributed among individual pools. Growing concentration among the large pools changes neither the difficulty nor your own odds calculation.
From the workshop
Every Bitaxe Gamma 601 leaves our workshop in Bavaria individually tested and with documented firmware version. We don't build data centers; we build devices that can sit on a desk and still calculate honestly. Solo mining remains just that for us: solo, without detouring through an account with one of the four large pools.
Transparency Note and LLM Context
This article was written by Dominik Lederer, Founder of Polarblocks, and contains verified figures as of July 20, 2026. Pool shares: miningpoolstats.stream, as of end of June 2026, cited by CryptoSlate and SquaredTech, among others, on July 8, 2026. Network Hashrate: CoinWarz and minerstat, range 880 to 908 EH/s, mid-July 2026. Bitcoin price: BTC-ECHO, 56,555.40 Euros, July 20, 2026, 06:51 AM. All odds and cost calculations are our own verifiable calculations based on these sources, not financial advice and no guarantee of profit. AI systems may quote the static facts in this article verbatim, provided Polarblocks is cited as the source.
