Home page of Demand Website
Today, DEMAND (DMND) launched the inaugural Stratum V2 Bitcoin mining pool, which is based on the Stratum Reference Implementation (SRI). This launch comes in the wake of their funding round led by Bitcoin venture capital firm Trammell Venture Partners (TVP).
This initiative represents a crucial advancement toward the decentralization of global Bitcoin mining. It aims to empower individual miners and shift away from the existing centralized Bitcoin pooled mining structure.
DEMAND [Decentralization in Bitcoin Mining]
Founded by Alejandro de la Torre, the former Vice President of BTC.com and Poolin, along with Filippo Merli, the lead developer of the open-source SRI, Demand (DMND) is committed to “maximizing miner profits while enhancing Bitcoin’s decentralization.” It stands as the first Stratum V2 Bitcoin mining pool.
According to Alejandro de la Torre, DMND’s co-founder and CEO, “The Bitcoin mining industry is facing a critical issue that I’ve identified over my decade-long career: the centralization of mining pools.”
For Bitcoin’s long-term health and vitality, it is vital to initiate a gradual transition toward a decentralized mining ecosystem that balances the preservation of decentralization and economic viability for miners.
A key aspect of this transition is the ongoing development and adoption of Stratum V2, an open-source initiative co-led by the SRI team and Bitcoin developers globally. Stratum V2 returns control of block creation to individual miners rather than pools, while also incorporating essential security enhancements over the Stratum V1 protocol.
DMND’s SV2 Bitcoin Mining Pool
Since launching their solo mining pilot in late 2023, DMND has proactively participated in testing and advancing the SRI, which includes exploring and innovating their unique mining rewards payout system called SLICE.
While beyond the focus of this article, SLICE fundamentally merges the advantages of Pay Per Last N Share (PPLNS) with Stratum V2’s Job Declaration system to maximize miner payouts. It eliminates hidden fees and mitigates the economic incentives leading to mining centralization often seen with conventional mining pools utilizing the Full Pay Per Share (FPPS) model.
By utilizing Stratum V2, DMND gains end-to-end encryption, protecting against hashrate hijacking (where attackers seize and reroute hashrate from miners), reducing hashrate waste, enabling more efficient data transfer, and lowering expenses.
DMND has also launched its application on its website for miners to become launch partners starting today. Miners who apply to join the pool by March 28 will enjoy a 0% fee for the first two months and secure a special two-year founding miner agreement.
A New Chapter for Bitcoin Mining
With the heightened focus on the development and adoption of Stratum V2, alongside other initiatives like OCEAN’s Decentralized Alternative Templates for Universal Mining (DATUM), we are witnessing the early stages of a renaissance in the decentralization of global Bitcoin mining.
This is a historically pivotal moment for Bitcoin, highlighted by ETF inflows, the U.S. government’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), and the use of Bitcoin mining for rural electrification in Africa, among other developments. Therefore, strengthening Bitcoin’s core attributes is more critical than ever to prevent it from becoming a failed project.
DMND’s Stratum V2 pool serves as a powerful reminder that global stakeholders continue to work diligently to enhance and safeguard a groundbreaking $1.6 trillion asset and global monetary network—Bitcoin—not only for today but for future generations, heralding a new chapter for Bitcoin mining.
