In 2024, the mining pool ViaBTC ranked among the top three in hash rate. Concurrently, Bitcoin’s price surpassed the historic $100,000 mark, while mining difficulty continued to rise, reaching new heights by 2025.
We spoke with Haipo Yang, founder of ViaBTC and the cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx, about mining profitability during the bull run and plans for the year.
ForkLog: Last year, ViaBTC successfully mined the halving block #840,000 and celebrated its eighth anniversary. How do you assess the company’s achievements over this period?
Haipo Yang: Over eight years, we have built a platform that provides miners with stable income, and we are proud of this. Over the past year, ViaBTC has attracted many new users, leading to significant growth in the pool’s computing power.
We have been actively working on adding new coins for mining. Ensuring the stable operation of the mining pool involves solving complex technological and operational challenges, so the team is fully focused on this. In 2025, the security of users’ assets remains our top priority.
ForkLog: In August 2024, you stated that Bitcoin had not yet reached bubble territory and predicted prices between $100,000 and $150,000. Now that we are within this range, have your expectations changed?
Haipo Yang: Since August, much has changed, especially in the United States. If Donald Trump fulfills his promises, prices could rise well above $150,000. I remain a long-term investor and advise not to focus on short-term fluctuations.
At this stage, it is crucial to monitor the overall sentiment in the community, as we may enter a phase of parabolic growth this year. During market euphoria, making precise forecasts is challenging.
ForkLog: Memes remain one of the main trends in the market. In August, ViaBTC included the “original meme coin” Bellscoin (BEL) in merged mining with Litecoin (LTC) and Dogecoin (DOGE). How popular are these coins?
Haipo Yang: ViaBTC added not only Bellscoin but also Luckycoin (LKY), Junkcoin (JKC), and Pepecoin (PEP) to merged mining. Each has its own audience, but the future of these projects largely depends on community activity.
Notably, the merged mining of new currencies has brought Litecoin miners significant additional income without increasing computing power.
Overall, we are pleased to have decided to support this trend. Judging by the activity around TRUMP, the meme token segment will remain lively in 2025.
ForkLog: You also added mining for the cryptocurrency Kaspa (KAS) and became the third-largest pool for its mining. What makes this PoW cryptocurrency interesting, and how do you assess its prospects?
Haipo Yang: Since its launch in 2021, Kaspa has rapidly gained popularity. Its success is due to a strong technical foundation, as well as high community and developer activity.
PoW has unique advantages. Unlike Proof-of-Stake (PoS), it offers greater decentralization, as anyone can join mining. Despite higher network maintenance costs, PoW provides a time-tested security model and fairer coin issuance.
Unlike most new projects, Kaspa chose PoW and avoided pre-mining, ensuring a fairer distribution of coins among investors and miners.
The community and developers are expanding the network’s ecosystem, positively impacting miners’ revenues. For example, the implementation of the KRC20 token standard led to a significant increase in network activity and, consequently, fee growth.
Considering these factors, it is safe to assume that Kaspa has every chance to become one of the leading PoW cryptocurrencies.
ForkLog: Is a new surge of interest in altcoins possible in 2025? Or is this unlikely?
Haipo Yang: Over the past decade, many projects have sought to use blockchain in various industries. But over time, it has become clear that the main value of this technology lies in creating reliable infrastructure for financial assets.
Indeed, today it is much harder to find a gem than in 2017 or 2021, when in a bull market everyone considered themselves a genius investor. However, I am confident that altcoins will emerge that can gain wide recognition, and their success will depend on their ability to offer real value.
ForkLog: Can you tell us about new cryptocurrencies or features you plan to add this year?
Haipo Yang: At ViaBTC, we approach the launch of new products carefully. Mining is a highly competitive environment, so it is important to maintain focus.
We focus primarily on improving the user experience. This year, our goal is to strengthen our position as one of the most professional and reliable mining pools.
When selecting new coins, we analyze market conditions and project quality. Key criteria include market size, community activity, and user demand.
We also conduct a technical audit of the blockchain to ensure its stability and security. This minimizes the risk of miners losing income due to potential technical failures. The decision to add a new cryptocurrency is made only after a comprehensive analysis.