GlossaryAdvanced
Hash Rate Distribution
How a proof-of-work network's total computational power is spread across different miners or pools.
Hash rate distribution describes how a proof-of-work network's total mining computational power is spread across individual miners or mining pools, generally expressed as each party's percentage share of the network total.
A highly concentrated hash rate distribution (a small number of pools controlling most of the network) is generally considered a centralization concern, since it could theoretically bring a coordinated group closer to the threshold needed for a 51% attack.
Examples
- A network with hash rate concentrated among just a few large pools is considered more centralized.
- Hash rate distribution is commonly tracked as an indicator of a proof-of-work network's decentralization.