The Creator of Ordinals Unveils a Dark Truth About Bitcoin!

Decentralized Bitcoin mining, a cornerstone of the system since its inception, is going through a period of scrutiny. Indeed, the recent explosive statements by developer Casey Rodarmor have caused quite a stir. These prominent allegations are fueling a heated debate about the sustainability of the decentralized model embodied by the pioneering cryptocurrency.

The Observations of Casey Rodarmor, Creator of Bitcoin Ordinals

It was through a series of scathing messages on platform X that Casey Rodarmor, creator of the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol, dropped the bombshell. According to him, many mining pools previously considered independent are now just mere proxies for the giant AntPool. “The current state of mining decentralization is unfortunately not great,” he hammered, citing troubling similarities in transaction selection policies of several major pools.

Bitcoin's entire value proposition rests of censorship-resistance, which can only be guaranteed by decentralized miners competing to produce blocks.

The current state of Bitcoin mining decentralization is, unfortunately, not great. Many large pools which were previously thought… https://t.co/nziWpBaN2r

— Casey (@rodarmor) April 24, 2024

Furthermore, objective data seem to corroborate this alarming finding. Last year, Blockchain.com statistics reveal that AntPool and Foundry alone were responsible for mining the majority of Bitcoin blocks. A situation that runs counter to the vision of a truly decentralized mining network.

The Call for Reform

Faced with this concerning phenomenon of centralization, several options are available to the Bitcoin community. On one side, some stakeholders question the sacrosanct absolute decentralization, arguing that a certain degree of centralization is a necessary evil to ensure the system’s longevity. However, this theory is in direct conflict with the very essence of Bitcoin, which was designed from the outset to resist any form of centralized censorship.

Consequently, another avenue appears to be gaining more support: that of reforming the current mining model. In this regard, the Stratum V2 protocol, advocated by Casey Rodarmor himself, could provide a favorable solution. Co-developed by Braiins Pool and leading contributor Matt Corallo, this system would grant individual miners more decision-making power regarding the selection of transactions to be included in blocks.

However, the road to widespread adoption of Stratum V2 is fraught with hurdles. Industry titans, well-established, might be reluctant to relinquish their grip. Moreover, the technical challenge for global deployment is not insignificant.

In conclusion, the serious accusations of Casey Rodarmor have put the decentralization of Bitcoin mining into the hot seat. If this centralizing trend is confirmed, the repercussions on the credibility and value of Bitcoin could be immense.