“AntPool, the second largest Bitcoin mining pool, mined seven blocks in a row on May 17, causing concern in the cryptocurrency community. This confirmed 20,686 transactions, yielding more than 23 BTC, valued at approximately $1.54 million.

Large mining pools AntPool and Foundry USA now control more than 50% of Bitcoin's hashrate, raising concerns about potential centralization and 51% attacks.

AntPool has mined 25.48% of all blocks in the last seven days, trailing Foundry USA, which has 31.12% of the network hashrate. Together, both companies maintain a mining dominance of 56.6%.

This concentration of power poses a significant threat to the decentralized nature of Bitcoin and its core principle of trustlessness,” TOBTC Trading LLC wrote on social media.

AntPool was founded in 2013 by Bitmain Technologies, a well-known manufacturer of mining equipment. He is based in Beijing.

In the US, national security concerns have arisen over cryptocurrency mining. The US government has ordered a Chinese cryptocurrency company to stop building a mine in Wyoming.

Norwegian authorities have proposed a new law aimed at tightening regulation of cryptocurrency mining activities carried out by data centers in the country.

Energy Minister Terje Aasland has made it clear that Norway does not welcome companies seeking to use the country's energy resources cheaply, which is in line with the country's environmental goals.🌍"