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In a significant move for the cryptocurrency industry, Mummolin, Inc., announced a major seed funding round of $6.2 million, led by the prominent internet entrepreneur and Bitcoin advocate Jack Dorsey.
This investment supports the launch of OCEAN, an initiative aimed at decentralizing Bitcoin mining globally. OCEAN says it "empowers miners to take back control of the intelligent parts of mining, and is designed to be non-custodial, transparent, and permissionless."
Dorsey is known for his foundational role in the tech industry as the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter and the co-founder and principal executive officer of Block, Inc., developer of the Square financial services platform. Dorsey, whose net worth is estimated at $3.1 billion as of October 2023, has been a vocal advocate for Bitcoin and its potential.
Addressing Centralization Issues
He remarked on the significance of OCEAN in addressing the centralization issues in Bitcoin mining, which he views as detrimental to the fundamental attributes of Bitcoin.
Luke Dashjr, a long-time Bitcoin Core developer and co-founder of Mummolin, emphasized the necessity for mining pools to evolve for Bitcoin to achieve true decentralization. He explained, "OCEAN is a new type of pool that enables miners to be truly miners again," highlighting its transparent and non-custodial nature where miners receive new block rewards directly from Bitcoin, bypassing traditional pools' control.
Traditional Bitcoin mining pools have been criticized for their control over block rewards and transaction fees, often holding exclusive custody before distributing them among miners. This system has raised concerns about the potential for payment withholding and undue influence over miners. OCEAN addresses these issues by enabling direct payouts to miners, thus removing the risk of pool control and enhancing the robustness of the Bitcoin network, Mummolin co-founder and president Mark Artymko explained in an annoucement.
OCEAN's first customer, Barefoot Mining, praised the initiative as one of the most significant announcements in the Bitcoin space in recent years. The launch event was held at the Future of Bitcoin Mining Conference, next to Barefoot Mining's repurposed 150-year-old hydroelectric dam in South Carolina, now used for Bitcoin mining at scale.
OCEAN said it plans to introduce further phases of Bitcoin decentralization improvements and upgrades in 2024.
