The mining pools Foundry USA and AntPool now control over half of the hashrate of the leading cryptocurrency network, potentially paving the way for a 51% attack. This was stated by WhaleWire CEO Jacob King.
Two Bitcoin mining pools now control over 51% of the network. The door is wide open for a 51% attack, which could completely destroy BTC.
For context, the last and only time this happened was 11 years ago, in 2014, with GHash,io. They had to voluntarily reduce their hashrate to… pic.twitter.com/SMLpVrGGdG
— Jacob King (@JacobKinge) August 19, 2025
According to him, the last time such a situation occurred was in 2015, when GHash.io reached a similar level of dominance. At that time, the mining pool voluntarily reduced its share of the hashrate following a wave of criticism.
“GHash faced powerful DDoS attacks, became a target for Bitcoin maximalists, and was eventually forced to cease operations,” King explained.
However, this did not prevent the price of the leading cryptocurrency from falling by 87%.
The expert added that on August 18, Foundry USA mined eight blocks in a row. Many transactions had fees of less than a satoshi per virtual byte (sat/vB). Earlier, CK Pool administrator Con Kolivas expressed concern about this trend.
King pointed out the risks of centralization, which he believes are ignored by proponents of digital gold. He argues that the market currently relies on unstable factors:
- stablecoin manipulation;
- FOMO among retail investors;
- false narratives spread by maximalists.
The CEO of WhaleWire predicted an imminent market collapse, likening it to a “game of musical chairs.”
Community Reaction
Many doubted the feasibility of a 51% attack on Bitcoin, citing economic impracticality and technical challenges. A user by the nickname Brad emphasized that Foundry USA and AntPool are based in different jurisdictions — the US and China. This makes their coordination unlikely.
Theoretically possible but it is not realistic to think a company in Rochester, NY and one Beijing China would simultaneously collaborate to destroy their businesses.
— ₿rad (@BradSanJuan) August 19, 2025
PandaPunk reminded that Foundry and Grayscale belong to Digital Currency Group, which holds a significant amount of Bitcoin.
“Does your brilliant theory suggest they would destroy their own investments?” — he noted.
Developer Enjo.btc explained that mining pools consist of independent participants.
JFC its a pool
A pool is made up of many miners, meaning 100% of participants in the pool would have to be onboard to attempt a 51% attack.
GTFO with this BS
— Enjo.btc 🥷🏽 (🌋,🌋) 🟧 (@enjoywithouthey) August 19, 2025
“A 51% attack would require 100% agreement from miners in the pool, which is impossible,” he noted.
In a comment to ForkLog, NoOnes CEO Ray Youssef emphasized that the Bitcoin network and its community “demonstrate distinctive resilience in the face of challenges.” According to him, miners, developers, and users share a common interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem, which remains unchanged.
Youssef pointed to a more serious structural issue. He warned that the real vulnerability lies in the reliance on centralized players like large financial institutions and stablecoin issuers.
Some also noted that crypto miners can instantly leave such an association if suspicious actions occur. Meanwhile, reputational risks and the threat of a fork make a potential 51% attack economically pointless.
A crypto enthusiast under the pseudonym Beljeezee compared the likelihood of such a scenario to the chances of winning an arm-wrestling match against Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He added that the end of the crypto industry “certainly won’t happen today.”
Earlier, the CEO of the Bitcoin liquidity protocol, Hassan Khan, emphasized that debates about the feasibility of a 51% attack remain open only due to its theoretical possibility. According to him, “in practice, the barriers are extremely high.”
Back on August 12, the mining pool Qubic seized control over Monero. However, researchers later called the incident a “staged media stunt to promote their own project.”