Bitcoin mining pools with 75% of BTC hashrate join open standard for block construction

Seven major Bitcoin mining pools controlling approximately 75% of global hashrate have joined the Stratum V2 working group, adopting an open standard protocol that redistributes block construction authority back to individual miners rather than pool operators. This shift represents a significant move toward decentralization in Bitcoin mining and reduces the concentration of power among large pool coordinators.

The adoption of Stratum V2 by Foundry, AntPool, F2Pool, SpiderPool, MARA Pool, and others marks a pivotal moment in Bitcoin mining infrastructure evolution. Historically, mining pools have concentrated significant decision-making power in their hands, allowing operators to select transactions and construct blocks unilaterally. This centralization creates potential vectors for censorship, MEV exploitation, and single points of failure. Stratum V2 fundamentally alters this dynamic by enabling individual miners to participate directly in block construction decisions, restoring agency to smaller mining operations while maintaining the efficiency benefits of pooled mining.

The timing of this adoption reflects growing industry recognition that mining centralization poses risks to Bitcoin's decentralization narrative and security model. As regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency intensifies globally, mining pools face increasing pressure to demonstrate that they cannot unilaterally enforce transaction censorship or manipulation. The Stratum V2 protocol addresses these concerns by making it technically impossible for pool operators to act as gatekeepers.

For investors and stakeholders, this development strengthens Bitcoin's resilience against both regulatory overreach and technical vulnerabilities. Individual miners gain leverage in transaction selection, potentially improving fee market efficiency and reducing the ability of any single entity to influence the network's transaction ledger. The 75% hashrate threshold is particularly significant because it demonstrates that even major, profit-motivated pools recognize the long-term value of network decentralization over short-term operational convenience.

Observers should monitor adoption velocity across remaining pools and watch for technical implementation challenges as Stratum V2 scales across diverse mining operations globally.

• →Seven major mining pools controlling 75% of Bitcoin hashrate have adopted Stratum V2, returning block construction authority to individual miners
• →The protocol shift reduces centralization risks by preventing pool operators from unilaterally censoring transactions or selecting blocks
• →This development strengthens Bitcoin's decentralization narrative amid increasing regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency infrastructure
• →Individual miners gain direct participation in transaction selection, improving fee market efficiency and network resilience
• →The adoption signals industry consensus that technical decentralization of mining power serves long-term network security interests