Rootstock reports 84% of Bitcoin hashpower securing BTC DeFi in Q1

Rootstock’s Q1 2026 merged‑mining report says 84.01% of Bitcoin’s total hashpower was also securing its smart‑contract sidechain, giving Bitcoin DeFi a strong security claim. The network averaged 833.92 exahashes per second of Rootstock‑linked hashrate during the quarter.

The figure comes from mining‑pool data rather than individual miner intent, meaning pools chose to submit work to both Bitcoin and Rootstock without adding hardware. Rootstock notes that 93.10% of observed pool hashrate participated in merged mining, with Foundry USA contributing 36.62%, AntPool 19.92%, F2Pool 12.79%, ViaBTC 11.79% and SecPool 4.98% [2]. Because the sidechain runs alongside Bitcoin, miners can earn additional BTC‑denominated rewards from Rootstock fees while continuing their primary Bitcoin mining operations.

However, the security boost does not yet translate into meaningful fee income. The report focuses on hashrate participation and pool distribution, leaving actual fee revenue to miners unquantified. Crypto‑market data shows the market cap of rBTC, the Bitcoin‑pegged asset on Rootstock, at roughly $19.9 million and RIF at $74.4 million—modest figures compared with the 984 EH/s Bitcoin network hashrate and a Bitcoin price around $77,300 [2]. In a broader context, Bitcoin mining margins have been squeezed, with hashprice falling to about $29 per PH/day in Q1 and an estimated 15‑20% of the global fleet unprofitable at $30 per PH/day [1].

The high pool participation suggests that a large share of Bitcoin’s mining infrastructure is already aligned with Rootstock, but the real test is whether fee revenue, active addresses, and transaction volume can grow enough to make the security layer economically valuable. If usage remains low, merged mining will stay a low‑cost optionality for miners; if activity picks up, Bitcoin’s hashpower could underpin a thriving BTC‑DeFi ecosystem.

The open question is whether Rootstock can convert its 84% security footprint into sufficient fee flow to justify miners’ continued support and to give BTC holders a tangible benefit beyond the hashrate headline.