Crypto Gloss

Foundry Digital

Foundry Digital is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG) focused on Bitcoin mining services, founded in 2019 and headquartered in Rochester, New York. Foundry operates the Foundry USA Pool — which since 2022 has been consistently ranked #1 globally by Bitcoin mining pool hash rate, typically capturing 25–35% of global Bitcoin hash rate. Foundry also provides ASIC hardware financing loans to miners, equipment procurement, and mining infrastructure advisory services.

Background

Foundry was created by DCG as a strategic investment in Bitcoin mining infrastructure at a time when North American mining was growing rapidly. The genesis of Foundry’s pool dominance came from DCG’s capital: Foundry offered favorable financing terms to US-based miners purchasing ASIC equipment, building strong relationships with the emerging US mining industry. Those miner relationships translated into hash rate directed to the Foundry USA Pool.

CEO Mike Coglitore leads the company.

Foundry USA Pool

The Foundry USA Pool became the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pool by hash rate share in 2022, overtaking AntPool and F2Pool. Key characteristics:

  • Zero fees for large miners (income from DCG’s broader business, not pool fees)
  • North American focus — designed to serve US and Canadian operators
  • Transparent reporting — publishes block-by-block mining data
  • Hash rate share: 25–35% of global Bitcoin hash rate (as of 2023–2024)

The concentration of hash rate in Foundry USA Pool has itself raised decentralization concerns — one pool controlling ~30% of hash rate approaches the theoretical 33% threshold relevant for certain attack scenarios.

ASIC Financing

Foundry’s financing arm provides debt capital to Bitcoin mining companies to purchase ASIC hardware. This was particularly valuable in 2020–2021 when hardware supply was constrained and miners needed capital to secure equipment at scale. The financing relationships lock miners into using Foundry’s services (pool, advisory) as a condition of loans.

DCG Context

Foundry’s parent Digital Currency Group also owns Grayscale Investments and (until its bankruptcy) Genesis Trading — giving DCG an unusually wide footprint across Bitcoin custody, investment products, trading, and mining infrastructure.

Related Terms

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