18-Hour Hash Rate Diversion to BIP-110 Triggers 0.3 BTC OCEAN Compensation

Woofun AI reports that OCEAN, a Bitcoin mining pool, acknowledged an incident where miner hash rate was unintentionally diverted to the BIP-110 chain, a situation first highlighted by Bitcoin News. This operational failure has sparked significant backlash from participants who allege their computational power was redirected without consent to support a struggling network.

The root cause was identified as a configuration error within the pool's infrastructure, which caused default connection settings to prioritize the BIP-110 chain over the legacy Bitcoin chain. This misrouting persisted for approximately 18 hours before the pool corrected the settings, restoring the default connection to the legacy Bitcoin chain and enabling miners to manually select between the two networks.

To address the financial disparity, OCEAN has committed to compensating affected miners with approximately 0.3 BTC. This payout is calculated based on the earnings miners would have reasonably expected from the legacy Bitcoin chain during the 18-hour disruption period. The compensation aims to offset losses incurred because the BIP-110 chain offers lower profitability due to reduced transaction fees and diminished block rewards.

Woofun AI data shows that BIP-110 is a proposed temporary soft fork designed to restrict non-payment data embedded in Bitcoin transactions, specifically targeting inscriptions and Runes. Proponents argue that limiting such data will reduce blockchain bloat and lower node resource requirements, thereby improving overall network efficiency.

However, the chain remains less adopted than the legacy network, leading some observers to describe its current state as struggling.

This incident underscores the operational risks inherent when mining pools experiment with alternative chains or configurations without explicit user communication. As intermediaries, pools hold significant control over hash rate allocation, and any mismanagement can result in direct financial consequences for miners. Critics emphasize that transparency and user control are paramount, noting that the lack of prior consent exacerbated the severity of the fallout.

The event highlights broader ecosystem debates regarding network scalability and the implementation of soft forks like BIP-110. While OCEAN's compensation plan attempts to rebuild trust, the criticism suggests that clearer safeguards and communication protocols are essential. Ensuring miners retain control over their hash rate and are fully informed of configuration changes will be critical to maintaining trust in mining pools and the broader Bitcoin ecosystem.