Japanese Financial Giant SBI to Shut Down Bitcoin Mining Pool
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- SBI Crypto will shut down its Bitcoin mining pool effective July 31, according to the firm's announcement, which gave no reason for the closure
- The pool ranks 11th-largest by hash rate per Hashrate Index, has been operating since at least 2017, and also supports Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin mining
- SBI Crypto is working with operators Braiins and Luxor to transition customers, some of whom may receive preferential sign-on conditions at the new pools
- The shutdown extends an industry trend of miners exiting or pivoting to AI — Bitfarms wound down mining last year to rebrand as AI-focused Keel Infrastructure, while others have signed multi-billion-dollar AI compute deals
- Mining economics have come under pressure with Bitcoin down more than 50% from its $126,080 all-time high set in October 2024
- Parent SBI Holdings separately announced this week it agreed to acquire Japanese crypto exchange Bitbank for $289 million
Why it matters: SBI Crypto users now face mandatory migration to other pools under a July 31 deadline, and the same week's $289 million Bitbank acquisition shows SBI Holdings is consolidating exchange exposure rather than retreating from crypto. That divergence within one corporate parent is the story beneath the headline — firms are pruning unprofitable crypto verticals, not exiting the sector wholesale.
