Ocean, the Bitcoin mining pool backed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has announced a significant policy change: introducing block template options that let individual miners choose which transactions are included in the next block. Dubbed the "path to decentralization," the feature aims to grant miners greater autonomy.
Three Block Template Policies
According to a press release, Ocean will offer three block template policies: two that filter Ordinal inscriptions, and a third that follows Bitcoin Core's unmodified policy (which Ocean describes as having the "fewest financial transactions and most spam"). The first two options come with a 0% promotional pool fee, while the third carries a 2% competitive fee.
Bitcoin Mechanic, Ocean's global head of sales, stated: "Block template construction has become so centralized that we can make significant progress towards improving things simply by providing a glimpse into the future." The move marks a departure from Ocean's earlier stance of filtering Ordinal inscriptions and Samourai Wallet privacy transactions.
Mixed Reactions in the Bitcoin Community
The announcement has drawn polarized responses. Bob Burnett, an investor and Ocean board member, praised the decision as "a major step toward the ultimate goal of having 1000s of miners each running their own node and making their own templates with whatever criteria they wish." He emphasized that this aligns with Ocean's decentralization mission.
However, Udi Wertheimer, co-founder of the Ordinals project Taproot Wizards, characterized the move as Ocean's "capitulation," acknowledging the economic profitability of mining these transactions. He argued that Ocean had erred from day one by filtering what it considered spam, and the new policy is a belated recognition of reality.
Ocean's new policy offers miners more control, but also reignites debates about spam management on the Bitcoin network and the centralization of mining pool power.