

Episode 96: Mining Decentralization Update
Feb 5, 2025
Discover the latest innovations aimed at decentralizing Bitcoin mining, including the Stratum V2 and DATUM protocols. The discussion highlights the open-source Bitaxe miner and explores emerging decentralized mining pool models like P2Pool. Delve into the implications of mining centralization and the importance of censorship resistance. Listen as the hosts analyze the technical aspects of decentralized systems and share insights on fostering a healthier mining landscape amidst regulatory challenges.
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Mining Centralization and Censorship Resistance
- Bitcoin needs to be censorship-resistant to achieve its goals.
- This requires preventing regulators from controlling miners, especially given the increasing centralization of mining pools.
Stratum V2: Decentralizing Transaction Selection
- Mining pool centralization creates a censorship vulnerability.
- Stratum V2 aims to decentralize transaction selection, empowering individual miners within pools.
Stratum V2 Implementations and Challenges
- Stratum V2 is complex, hindering adoption.
- Current implementations exist in Braiins OS and Stratum Reference Implementation (SRI), with the latter used by Slush Pool.