Stratum V2 Update Boosts Bitcoin Mining Decentralization
Stratum, the most used software in Bitcoin mining nodes, has a new version that, among other things, improves the decentralization of the product. Called SRI 1.0.0, the version is ready for testing.
This update, presented in detail by developer Pavlenex, focuses on boosting miner independence and diversity in mining pools.
Firstly, miners can now connect to an SV2 pool without needing to update their SV1 firmware, thanks to a Translation Proxy. Additionally, they have the option to connect directly to an SV2 pool using devices with SV2 firmware, such as BraiinsOS. This improvement simplifies the transition to the new protocol and promotes the inclusion of more miners in the network.
Another notable feature of this update is the ability for miners to build custom block templates, when the Ocean pool became the first to use Stratum v2. This quality gives miners greater control over the blocks they mine and reduces their dependence on centralized pools.
The fallback feature, also added in SV2 SRI 1.0.0, ensures that if a pool rejects a block template, the miner client will automatically switch to an alternative pool. This measure serves as a powerful incentive for pools to act in the best interests of miners and prevents arbitrary censorship of transactions.
On the other hand, Stratum V2 stands out for its ease of implementation. The SRI pool software is simple and easy to implement, allowing anyone to deploy an SV2 pool or integrate SV2 into an existing pool using the provided libraries. This accessibility encourages widespread adoption of the protocol and strengthens the Bitcoin network as a whole, Pavlenex explains.
As mentioned, Stratum developers claim that this update will boost decentralization in Bitcoin mining. Mainly, it is because it will enable a greater diversity of pools and a more active participation of miners in the construction of the network.
After months of “rigorous testing,” including more than 600 blocks mined on the test network, the Stratum team invites all Bitcoin miners to try SRI version 1.0.0 first-hand. Finally, they also encourage volunteers to leave their comments to improve the software in the future.
