Japanese Financial Giant SBI to Shut Down Bitcoin Mining Pool
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- SBI Crypto is winding down its Bitcoin mining pool services, with operations set to cease on July 31, though the firm gave no reason for the shutdown.
- The pool ranks as the 11th largest by hash rate per Hashrate Index and also supported Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin mining, having operated since at least 2017.
- SBI Crypto is conducting "business and technical discussions" with other operators like Braiins and Luxor to help transition affected customers, some of whom may receive preferential terms.
- The exit continues a broader trend of miners pivoting to AI: Bitfarms wound down operations entirely last year and rebranded to Keel Infrastructure, while other major miners signed multi-billion-dollar AI compute deals.
- Bitcoin's price is down more than 50% from its all-time high of $126,080 set last October, making mining economics increasingly difficult for operators.
- SBI Holdings separately agreed to acquire Japanese crypto exchange Bitbank for $289 million earlier this week, signaling continued crypto investment even as its mining arm exits.
Why it matters: SBI Crypto's mining pool users must migrate to competitors like Braiins or Luxor by July 31, while the shutdown adds to evidence that even well-capitalized miners are deprioritizing Bitcoin amid a 50%+ drawdown from October's $126,080 peak. The Bitbank deal shows the parent is reshuffling its crypto portfolio — pulling out of mining while paying $289 million to enter exchange services.
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