Bitcoin mining has always been a global race. In its early years, anyone with a computer could participate.
But by the mid-2010s, the industry had become dominated by large operations in China, where nearly 70 percent of the world’s hashrate and all major machine manufacturers were concentrated.
North America lagged far behind, with little infrastructure, limited capital, and almost no institutional players willing to step in.
That was the environment in which Foundry was created. Backed by Digital Currency Group, the mission was straightforward: build the rails for bitcoin mining in North America.
As one Foundry team member put it in a recent conversation with us, “We didn’t want to be the biggest miner. Our end goal was to build out the ecosystem in North America.”
Building the Rails
At the time, banks wouldn’t lend against mining equipment. Entrepreneurs struggled to source machines without waiting in long queues. The few miners who were operating in North America often had no choice but to connect their hashrate to pools in China.
Foundry tackled these problems head-on. It launched equipment financing, one of the first programs to recognize mining machines as legitimate collateral.
It sold machines directly, getting miners plugged in without the delays that crippled smaller startups. And in 2020, Foundry USA Pool™ was born, offering a transparent, institutional-grade alternative to the opaque pools overseas.
“We knew public miners were going to need compliance,” Foundry explained. “That’s why we required KYC and AML for the pool. Some people thought it went against Bitcoin’s ethos, but if you were going to be a public company, you had to meet those standards.”
It was a calculated bet: prioritize trust and transparency so that institutional capital would feel comfortable entering the space. That bet paid off.
The China Ban
Then came the pivotal moment. In 2021, China abruptly banned bitcoin mining, wiping out nearly half the network’s hashrate overnight. For outsiders, it looked like a death blow. For those inside the industry, it was proof of Bitcoin’s resilience.
“If you weren’t really paying attention, you might not have even noticed,” Foundry recalled. Difficulty dropped, profitability soared, and miners across North America suddenly had breathing room to grow.
Chinese miners simply picked up and moved. The team at Foundry vividly remembers standing in an Oklahoma field with Chinese miners planning to build a substation for 100 megawatts of bitcoin mining.
The ban accelerated what Foundry had been building all along: a more geographically diverse, decentralized mining ecosystem. With North America already laying the groundwork, miners had alternatives when China closed its doors.
Security and Value
Foundry also sees a deeper connection between mining and Bitcoin’s long-term value.
“The value you can store on the Bitcoin network is tied to the security of the network,” they explained.
“The first time Bitcoin hit a trillion-dollar market cap, there was only 160 exahash securing it. Today we’re at over 900 exahash. That’s almost six times more secure, which means you can store more value.”
This logic points toward a virtuous cycle: as Bitcoin grows, it demands more security, which drives more machines, more power, and more participants around the world. The mining ecosystem expands in lockstep with Bitcoin’s adoption.
Foundry’s Expanding Role
Today, Foundry’s role is far more than just financing and a pool. By empowering the institutional bitcoin mining ecosystem with critical software and trusted site services, they’re thoughtfully driving the digital asset industry forward.
The company has built a comprehensive enterprise software suite that includes Foundry USA Pool, OptiFleet for real-time fleet management, and Foundry Firmware, a firmware solution that protects machines while promoting longer-lasting, higher-performing hardware.
Foundry also operates Site Operations, their boots-on-the-ground service where operations teams work on-site at customer facilities to maximize efficiency.
This approach bridges the gap between the software solutions that institutional miners rely on and the professional on-site services required to operate at scale.
In short, Foundry has positioned itself as a backbone for institutional miners, offering everything from operations and software to innovation.
Their goal has always been to meet the institutional demand for products and services within the bitcoin mining industry, spending years tailoring solutions to offer a comprehensive approach to mining.
Their enterprise software solutions are built by individuals passionate about the Bitcoin ecosystem, leveraging on-site knowledge to create solutions that miners can trust.
Human Nature and Bitcoin
Through it all, Foundry hasn’t lost sight of Bitcoin’s strange paradox: a network built on human greed that manages to harness it for a collective good. “We’ve got this computer system that feeds on human greed,” they said. “But if you get too greedy, it will slap you down.”
That truth is especially relevant in mining.
The proof-of-work system forces miners to sell bitcoin to cover expenses, distributing coins to the market instead of letting them remain concentrated. In Foundry’s view, this is how the network ensures participation stays broad and sustainable.
A Collaborative Spirit
Despite the fierce competition for efficiency, mining has fostered a sense of cooperation that’s rare in traditional industries. “In our case, everybody wins,” Foundry noted. “Number goes up, everybody wins.”
This spirit is reflected at Bitcoin meetups and conferences, where strangers become instant friends over “magic internet money.” It’s also reflected in the way infrastructure like Foundry’s enables newcomers to join the network with less friction than ever before.
Looking Ahead
The challenges of 2019 and the China ban of 2021 showed why infrastructure matters. Without financing, pools, and operational expertise, the North American mining boom would have faltered.
Instead, thanks to the rails Foundry helped lay down, a new generation of miners was able to grow and thrive in Bitcoin’s most volatile years.
Today, Foundry continues to build for the future: strengthening trust, creating better tools, and empowering miners across the continent.
As institutional adoption accelerates and nation-states eye Bitcoin’s potential, the foundation Foundry has built may prove even more valuable in the battles ahead.
