The seed funding will support the launch of OCEAN [link], the first of many mining decentralization projects for Bitcoin. Long-time Bitcoin Core developer and Mummolin co-founder Luke Dashjr said, “The role of mining pools must change for Bitcoin to exist as a truly decentralized currency.” Put differently, “OCEAN is a new type of pool that enables miners to be truly miners again. We are launching as the most transparent pool and also the only non-custodial pool where miners are the recipients of new block rewards directly from Bitcoin.”

“Traditional Bitcoin mining pools take exclusive custody of block rewards and transaction fees before splitting them up amongst miners. This gives them the ability to withhold payment from individual miners, whether by their own choice or by legal requirement. OCEAN‘s non custodial payouts directly to miners from the block reward remove this risk and the pool’s undue influence over miners,” added Mummolin co-founder and President Mark Artymko.

OCEAN’s Global Head of Sales, the pseudonymous Bitcoin Mechanic, said this: “The intention is to disintermediate to the greatest extent possible. Pools have become trusted third parties whose permission we have required for activating soft forks and deciding what gets into the blockchain in addition to taking custody of all newly generated coins.” “By offering transparency and a mechanism for miners to be paid directly by bitcoin itself, we make the network radically more robust. The name OCEAN intentionally contrasts with the restrictive, permissioned nature of legacy pools.”

“Our contribution to OCEAN comes out of a deep respect for their mission,” says Jack Dorsey. “I think it’s a phenomenal team. I know Luke; I’ve interacted with him for some time, and I was inspired by the vision and most importantly the execution.”

Mr. Dorsey noted, “OCEAN is solving a problem for Bitcoiners that I think all of us feel – further centralization of pools and mining pools that could plague Bitcoin, and how that risks a bunch of Bitcoin attributes that we hold dear.” As part of the launch, Mr. Dorsey noted,“when I see a project that is good for Bitcoin broadly, and that‘s also good for me and my companies personally, it becomes a simple decision for me and I‘m happy to be a part of it.”

OCEAN’s first customer, Barefoot Mining, said the following via its co-founder & CEO, BobBurnett,
“In my opinion, this is the most significant new company announcement in the Bitcoin world over the past few years. The new pool will bring new features and some badly needed diversity to the mining world.”

OCEAN made its announcement from the Future of Bitcoin Mining Conference in the shadows of Barefoot Mining’s 150-year-old hydroelectric dam in rural South Carolina, completely repurposed, which has converted excess energy to Bitcoin mining at scale. OCEAN expects to launch additional phases of Bitcoin decentralization improvements and upgrades in 2024.

About OCEAN
OCEAN empowers miners to take back control of the intelligent parts of mining, and is designed to be non-custodial, transparent, and permissionless—the first of hopefully many projects of its parent company Mummolin, Inc., a Wyoming corporation, and a successor to the Eligius Bitcoinmining pool which operated from 2011-2017. Learn more at www.ocean.xyz and follow us on X@ocean_mining.

SOURCE Mummolin Inc