3 countries control 66% of Bitcoin mining, but 1 rival is gaining

Bitcoin's estimated US mining footprint shrank as Russia's grew, with little change in top-three country concentration.Hashrate Index's Oct. 5 country estimates put the US at about 335 EH/s, down from 345 EH/s in the previous edition, while Russia rose from 162 to 170 EH/s.The US, Russia and China still account for roughly 66% of the estimated network. Their combined share slipped by about 0.8%, even as the global hashrate estimate stayed almost flat.That is a modest change in geographic concentration, with a clearer shift in the balance between the two largest mining locations.Luxor Technology's mining data platform Hashrate Index labels the report its fourth-quarter update, but the figures describe observations from the preceding third quarter. Its July 16 comparison edition described June estimates.The October publication is neither a completed fourth-quarter result nor a live census of where machines are operating on Oct. 6.A smaller US share leaves the same three leadersThe comparison separates absolute mining activity from network share. Estimated US hashrate declined as its share fell from 36.7% to 35.6%, while Russia gained both estimated hashrate and share, rising from 17....