Bitcoin mining today runs on asics: chips that can do only one thing, compute sha-256 hashes, but do it millions of times more efficiently than a laptop.
A concentrated market
CCAF's survey (data 2024) found Bitmain at 82.0% of surveyed machines, MicroBT 15.0% and Canaan 2.1% – over 99% together. Others include Auradine, Bitfury, ePIC and Bit Mining.
Efficiency
Average fleet efficiency was estimated at 28.2 J/TH in June 2024, 24% better than a year earlier. Each new chip generation lowers energy per hash, so old machines become unprofitable and move to cheaper power.
Why concentration matters less than it seems
- A manufacturer sells machines; it does not control them once sold.
- The design is simple and public: any chipmaker can compete, and smaller firms such as Auradine already sell machines.
- Firmware is diverse: CCAF found manufacturer firmware on only 44.4% of surveyed machines, with Vnish (26.4%) and in-house software also common.
The remaining risk
Supply-chain shocks, export rules or a hidden backdoor in firmware could hurt miners. That is why open firmware and more vendors are healthy for the network.