<div id="readability-page-1"><div>Seven major Bitcoin mining pools have joined the Stratum V2 working group to develop an industry-wide open standard protocol used by mining pool operators to communicate with individual miners in their pools.AntPool, Block Inc, F2Pool, Foundry, MARA Foundation, SpiderPool, and DMND all joined the working group to collaborate on the mining pool communication standard, which could reduce the time it takes pools to successfully mine blocks, according to an announcement from Stratum V2.“Bitcoin mining is competitive and fragmented by design. It is a race for efficiency where a millisecond can determine whether a miner wins a block or loses to a competitor,” the announcement said.Foundry and AntPool are the two largest Bitcoin mining pools by hashrate, the total amount of computing power deployed by miners to secure the Bitcoin network.Foundry controls nearly 30% of the global mining pool hashrate, and AntPool controls about 17.7%, according to data from Hashrate Index.<figure></figure>Mining pools broken down by the share of global Bitcoin mining hashrate they control. Source: Hashrate IndexDeveloping an open standard for Bitcoin mining pools that is not controlled by any one mining pool operator helps decentralize the mining industry, which has become increasingly centralized, while also giving miners greater flexibility in choosing block templates.Bitcoin mining difficulty is set to rise in the next difficulty adjustment, while energy costs soarThe Bitcoin mining difficulty, the relative challenge of adding new blocks to the ledger, is projected to rise again in the next difficulty adjustment in May.“The next Bitcoin difficulty adjustment is estimated to take place on May 15, 2026, 5:58 PM UTC, increasing the Bitcoin mining difficulty from 132.47 T to 135.64 T,” according to CoinWarz.<figure></figure>Bitcoin mining difficulty continues to increase over the long term. Source: CoinWarzRising network difficulty and increasing energy costs are placing additional pressure on the already competitive Bitcoin mining industry.Up to 20% of Bitcoin miners are unprofitable under current crypto market and economic conditions, according to asset manager CoinShares.Hashprice, a critical metric for miner profitability, fell to levels between hit $36 and $38/Petahash-seconds per day, which is at near or at breakeven profit levels for some miners, CoinShares said.</div></div>

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Seven major Bitcoin mining pools, including AntPool and Foundry, have joined the Stratum V2 working group to create an open standard protocol for communication between mining pools and individual miners. This initiative aims to enhance efficiency in mining operations, as even milliseconds can impact block mining success. The Bitcoin mining difficulty is expected to rise, adding pressure to miners, with up to 20% currently unprofitable due to high energy costs and market conditions. Hashprice has fallen to breakeven levels for some miners, according to CoinShares.

- Seven major Bitcoin mining pools, including AntPool and F2Pool, have joined the Stratum V2 working group to create an open standard protocol for mining pool communication.  
- This initiative aims to enhance efficiency in block mining and offers miners greater flexibility in selecting block templates, amid rising network difficulty and energy costs.  
- Currently, up to 20% of Bitcoin miners are unprofitable due to challenging market conditions, with hashprice falling to critical levels for profitability.

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7 major Bitcoin mining pools join Stratum V2, working group