what's OCEAN?

OCEAN is a decentralized Bitcoin mining pool designed to enhance transparency and reduce reliance on centralized operators. Launched in November 2023, it allows miners to select or construct their own block templates, enabling direct payouts of block rewards and fees without custodial intermediaries. The pool operates on open-source principles, is permissionless and non-KYC, meaning participants can join without personal information disclosure. It emphasizes radical transparency by making operations verifiable and aims to decentralize Bitcoin mining through features like the TIDES payout system, which ensures miners receive accurate shares based on their hash rate contributions. Key innovations include non-custodial mechanics where new bitcoins are distributed directly from the Bitcoin network to miners' addresses, bypassing pool-held funds. OCEAN also introduced DATUM, a tool for creating alternative block templates to further empower miners in transaction selection. Backed by investors like Jack Dorsey, it has grown to significant hash rate participation, mining hundreds of blocks and paying out to numerous unique addresses, promoting a more equitable mining ecosystem.

A Bitcoin mining pool backed by Jack Dorsey and featuring the DATUM protocol has grown its total hashrate to 15 EH/s with the addition of a new large miner.