Mummolin, Inc. has successfully raised $6.2 million in seed funding to launch OCEAN, a project aimed at decentralizing bitcoin mining on a global scale. The funding round, led by Block CEO Jack Dorsey, also attracted bitcoin-mining-globally—announces-launch-at-future-of-bitcoin-mining-conference-301999073.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>support from notable entities such as Accomplice, Barefoot bitcoin Fund, MoonKite, NewLayer Capital, and bitcoin Opportunity Fund.
New push to decentralize bitcoin mining
Billed as a major shift in mining, OCEAN seeks to disrupt the traditional mining pool model, which has been criticized for encouraging centralization. Luke Dashjr, bitcoin Core developer and long-time co-founder of Mummolin, emphasized the need for a change in the role of mining pools for btc to maintain its decentralized spirit.
He stated: “OCEAN is a new type of pool that allows miners to be real miners again. We launched as the most transparent pool and also the only non-custodial pool where miners receive new block rewards directly from bitcoin.”
Traditionally, mining pools have had sole custody of block rewards and transaction fees, distributing them among miners. This model has raised concerns about the possibility of pools withholding payments. OCEAN’s approach, which offers non-custodial payments directly from the block reward to miners, aims to mitigate these risks and reduce the influence of pools over miners.
Mark Artymko, co-founder and president of Mummolin, commented: “By providing transparency and a mechanism for miners to receive payments directly from bitcoin itself, we make the network radically more robust.”
Jack Dorsey’s participation is a notable endorsement of OCEAN’s mission. “Our contribution to OCEAN arises from a deep respect for its mission.” And he added: “I think they are a phenomenal team. I know Lucas; “I have interacted with him for some time and was inspired by the vision and, most importantly, the execution.”
Dorsey also noted that OCEAN is solving a problem that “we all feel: greater centralization of pools and mining pools that could affect bitcoin.” In the official press release, Dorsey further commented: “When I see a project that is good for bitcoin in general, and that is also good for me and my companies personally, it becomes a simple decision for me and I am happy to be a part of it.” “. of it.”
Surprisingly, the initiative has already attracted its first client, Barefoot Mining, and its CEO, Bob Burnett, called it “the most important new company announcement in the world of bitcoin in recent years.”
The announcement was made at the Future of bitcoin Mining Conference, against the backdrop of Barefoot Mining’s repurposed 150-year-old hydroelectric dam in South Carolina, which is now dedicated to mining.
Decentralization efforts advance
The launch of OCEAN comes at a time when the btc mining landscape is dominated by centralized pools like AntPool and Foundry USA. Over the past year, both groups combined for 52.7% of all mined blocks. While these pools are made up of geographically dispersed miners and any individual miner can change their pool at any time, better decentralization in line with the spirit of bitcoin is an aspirational goal.
In parallel, DEMAND, a btc mining company, recently inserted the first two mining pools to operate on Stratum v2, another initiative aimed at improving decentralization in the mining ecosystem.
OCEAN’s entry into this space signals a growing trend towards diversification and decentralization in mining. The company plans to introduce new phases of bitcoin decentralization improvements and updates in 2024.
At the time of this publication, btc was trading at $38,136.
Featured image from Miami Herald, chart from TradingView.com
