SBI Crypto pulls the plug on its Bitcoin mining pool — miners have until July 31 to pack their hashrate 🛠️

SBI Crypto, the cryptocurrency-focused arm of Japanese financial conglomerate SBI, will discontinue its Bitcoin mining pool on July 31, the company announced Wednesday, ending a five-year run that placed it among the largest corporate-operated pools in Japan. The firm said it will stop accepting mining shares at the same time and did not disclose a rationale for the closure. "We would sincerely appreciate your continued support by mining with us until the final day of operation," SBI Crypto said, instructing miners to continue directing hashrate to the pool so final payouts can be calculated correctly.

According to SimpleMining data, SBI Crypto currently ranks as the 12th-largest Bitcoin ($BTC) mining pool globally, contributing roughly 21.46 exahashes per second (EH/s) of hashrate and about 2.24% of total network share. That places it well behind Foundry USA at approximately 24.49% and AntPool at around 19.05%, with mid-tier operators ViaBTC and MARA Pool controlling about 8.55% and 5.15%, respectively. SBI Crypto launched the pool in March 2021, entering a market then dominated by Poolin, F2Pool and Binance Pool.

SBI Crypto pointed miners toward several alternative pool operators, including Braiins, Luxor and NeoPool. Braiins and Luxor are established mid-tier mining infrastructure providers, each accounting for roughly 2%–3% of global Bitcoin hashrate, while NeoPool is not ranked among the top pools by hashrate. "Some operators may offer special programs or preferential conditions for clients transitioning from SBI Crypto," the company said, advising customers to contact each operator directly for details.

The closure comes as parent SBI Holdings continues to broaden its cryptocurrency strategy beyond mining. The company recently agreed to acquire full control of crypto exchange Bitbank in a deal valued at 46.7 billion Japanese yen ($289 million), aiming to form Japan's largest cryptocurrency exchange. SBI has also expanded its stablecoin efforts, backing JPYSC, a new trust bank-backed Japanese yen stablecoin, and supporting Ripple's rollout of the Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in Japan.