Foundry to End Free Bitcoin Mining Services, Introduce Fees

Summary

• Foundry, the Bitcoin mining arm of Digital Currency Group, will no longer offer its services for free.
• The change is expected to take effect between April 19 and April 22.
• This move follows DCG’s crypto lending unit Genesis filing for bankruptcy and a rocky 2022 in the Bitcoin mining industry.

Foundry Ceasing Free Mining Pool Services

Foundry, the Bitcoin mining arm of Digital Currency Group, will stop providing its services for free according to a notice distributed to clients as reported by Bloomberg. Foundry has been offering its mining pool services without charge since 2019 which contributed to its significant growth and now holds the largest share of estimated hash rate at more than 30%. The notice states that the mining pool fees will be tiered based on the previous quarter’s average hashrate with this change taking effect between April 19 and April 22.

Genesis Bankruptcy & Rocky 2022

DCG’s crypto lending unit, Genesis, filed for bankruptcy as one of the final dominos ensuing from the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange. Bitcoin mining companies faced a rocky 2022, with many “fighting for survival” according to Bitcoin Magazine PRO analysts. Despite necessary moves like public mining giant Marathon Digital selling bitcoin for the first time in company history, 2023 has seen some positive news such as Terawulf’s nuclear facility operation announcement and CleanSpark’s 50MW expansion.

Reason For Change?

This move by Foundry may be a bolstering effort designed to better mitigate the impacts of seasons like that of late 2022. Companies in all industries have had to make necessary changes due to economic downturns or other difficult situations; as an adaptive measure it makes sense that Foundry would also need to make this adjustment.

Conclusion
Foundry’s decision to cease free services is part of an overall trend among cryptocurrency miners due to turbulent times in both 2020 and 2021. This move could represent an effort on their part toward greater stability should they face difficulties again in the future.