Bitcoin mining and digital-asset infrastructure company Foundry Digital operates Foundry USA Pool, a Bitcoin mining pool, and also lists Foundry Zcash Pool as a separate product. A mining pool coordinates work from participating miners and distributes earnings under its payout rules; it is not the same thing as the cryptocurrency network itself.
Background
Foundry describes itself as a U.S.-based digital-asset infrastructure company. Its current profile identifies Mike Colyer as CEO and says he became Foundry’s founding CEO in October 2019. Digital Currency Group’s company profile also presents Foundry as part of its group. Foundry’s leadership page describes Fortitude Mining as the evolution of its self-mining activity; that is distinct from the Foundry USA Pool service used by participating outside miners.
Foundry USA Pool
Bitcoin miners can join a mining pool to combine work and receive smaller, more regular payouts than they would expect from solo mining. Foundry describes its USA Pool as a U.S.-based service for professional and institutional miners. The pool’s current pages list KYC/AML screening and security controls for members, and its payout documentation describes Full Pay Per Share (FPPS).
Under Foundry’s documented FPPS method, the pool calculates a base payment from accepted shares, accounts for transaction-fee revenue through an FPPS rate, and deducts pool fees. This describes the pool’s payout calculation; it is not a guaranteed mining profit. Hardware, electricity, pool terms, rejected shares, network conditions, and Bitcoin’s price all affect a miner’s result.
Foundry Zcash Pool
Foundry also lists a Zcash pool, which uses a different payout model: Pay Per Last N Shares (PPLNS). The company says it screens pool participants and distributes rewards to transparent Zcash addresses. Its documentation also says blocks mined through the pool may contain transparent or shielded transactions. A transparent payout address therefore should not be confused with a claim that Zcash’s shielded transaction feature is disabled.
Hashrate and Pool Concentration
A pool’s share of recently mined blocks is not the same measure as the share of mining hardware it owns. Independent operators can direct their machines to a pool and may redirect them elsewhere. Pool concentration still matters: the operator coordinating a pool may provide the block template, which can affect transaction selection. Bitcoin’s developer documentation explains this role in pooled mining, while independently validating nodes continue to apply Bitcoin’s consensus rules.
For that reason, a pool’s reported block share should be dated and tied to a stated measurement method. A percentage or “largest pool” label from one period is not a permanent current ranking, and a pool’s size alone does not show that it can make invalid blocks acceptable to the network or rewrite Bitcoin’s rules. The practical concern is narrower: who chooses a block template, how much discretion miners retain, and how readily participants can switch pools.
Social Media Sentiment
In a March 2026 discussion in r/BitcoinMining, some participants urged miners to spread hash power across smaller or solo pools, while replies questioned whether those options are practical or preferable. This is a small, self-selected thread rather than a poll; it does not establish the wider mining community’s view or a current Foundry market share. Read the discussion on Reddit.
Last updated: 2026-10
Related Terms
See Also
- What Happens to Bitcoin When All 21 Million Are Mined?
- Are Layer 2 Networks Actually Decentralized?
- How the 2024 Bitcoin ETF Changed Crypto
- Explore crypto with ChangeNOW
Sources
- Foundry About — Foundry’s company profile identifies its current leadership and describes its infrastructure and mining-related work.
- Digital Currency Group: Foundry Digital — DCG’s company profile describes Foundry’s relationship to the group and its industry focus.
- Foundry USA Pool — The operator’s current page describes the pool’s FPPS service, member screening, and security features.
- Foundry USA Pool payout methodology — The pool’s help center explains how its FPPS payment combines accepted shares and transaction-fee revenue, less fees.
- Foundry Zcash Pool — Foundry’s product page documents the pool’s PPLNS model, onboarding controls, and transparent reward addresses.
- Bitcoin Developer Guide: Mining — The guide explains how pooled miners submit shares and how pools provide mining work or block templates.