Bitcoin mining takes a step toward more decentralization today. DMND and RootstockLabs have rolled out a new feature that uses Stratum V2 to let pool miners self-construct block templates while also selecting and including merge-mined block commitments from the Rootstock sidechain (RSK).
What is Merge-Mining?
Merge-mining lets multiple blockchains share the same proof-of-work from the same set of miners. One blockchain (the child chain) structures its block headers to include headers from the parent chain. The hash of the child chain’s block header goes inside the parent block—usually in the coinbase transaction. The child chain’s software validates part of the parent chain’s blocks when verifying its own blocks. This means miners on the parent chain can mine several blockchains at once, by simply including block header commitments in the coinbase transaction. When a block is mined for the parent chain, it’s also mined for all child chains.
How the New Integration Works
DMND’s integration gives miners direct access to sidechain rewards in sBTC (Rootstock’s bitcoin-backed token) on the sidechain itself. There’s no revenue sharing or intermediate pool custody. According to DMND, this puts more decision-making power back into the hands of individual miners.
Alejandro De La Torre, CEO and Co-Founder of DMND, said: “The miner controls the merge mining and the miner gets paid for the merge mining. More delegation of control to miners is our key support for further decentralisation of the Bitcoin ecosystem.”
Potential Risks and Real-World Testing
Of course, there’s some debate. Giving miners more control might not always help decentralization. But this development puts those questions to the test in real-world conditions. Whether it truly shifts power toward smaller miners or introduces new centralizing pressures remains to be seen. Still, it’s an important step that moves beyond theory and into practice.
What Comes Next
Both DMND and RootstockLabs will monitor how the integration performs. The goal is to offer miners more autonomy without sacrificing security or efficiency. The broader Bitcoin ecosystem will be watching closely.
