Hydra Pool

Open Source Bitcoin Mining Pool

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Motivation

Mining pools are increasingly centralized and we set out to change that with this project. In the event that authoritative governments attempt to coerce mining pools to do things that mining operators disagree with, there needs to be easily deployable options readily available to quickly divert hashrate from such threats. For example, these threats could be in the form of forcing pools to KYC their users, or forcing pools to censor OFAC transactions, or orphaning blocks containing transactions they want censored based on any arbitrary factor. If anyone can spin up a mining pool with a self-hosted computer or a VPS and this open-source project then mining operators are going to be able to pool their resources back together faster and the pressure will grow exponentially on the resources needed to uphold misaligned demands. In short, Hydra Pool is a project to make deploying a mining pool server with a Bitcoin node and Stratum server as easy as “one-click” (or as close to that as possible).

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Scope:

One Project Manager position and one to four engineer positions to fulfill the mission of The 256 Foundation, “Dismantle the proprietary mining empire to make Bitcoin and freedom tech accessible to anyone”. This grant proposal aims to secure funding for:

In summary, the Hydra Pool project delivers an open-source, multi-OS compatible, “one-click” deployable Bitcoin mining pool software featuring full node and stratum server support. The basic idea is to lower the barrier to entry required for spinning up a Bitcoin mining pool. The intent behind the term “one-click” deployable here means making the software as easy to run as possible, for example, if a user wanted to self-host or rent a VPS they download Hydra Pool, set a few configuration parameters guided by a wizard, and have a fully functioning mining pool server that they could share a link to with their peers. All dependencies and prerequisites should be included in the build process. This project would offer an assurance that in the event Bitcoin mining pools fall victim to authoritative regimes anyone could quickly spin up alternative pools thus mimicking the effect of cutting off the head of a Hydra where two heads grow back. The open-source nature makes integrating it in a variety of ways possible; giving end-users complete control over all variables of their mining environments.

Deliverables:

The deliverables from this grant are a user-friendly software package designed to get anyone from zero to running their own Bitcoin mining pool in a range of environments. The deliverables will be produced within the allotted timeline and for the available budget, resulting in an open-source project that aligns with The 256 Foundation mission and benefits the public at large.

Timeline:

The timeline for this grant proposal is twelve months with the opportunity to extend the grant at the conclusion of each twelve month period, pending negotiations.

Materials:

Materials for this project’s initial release are included in the budget. Potential materials for the project may include but are not limited to various common mining rigs for testing and various other tools or software.

Team Members:

This proposal is for one project manager and one to four engineers.

Budget:

For security reasons, exact dollar amounts are kept confidential. This project budget covers fair-market compensation for one project manager as well as the materials, travel expenses, and living expenses for one to four engineers for twelve months. Funds are disbursed monthly in equal amounts. Within 30-days prior to the expiration of this grant, a renewal opportunity will open and be subject to review and negotiation.