Seven major Bitcoin mining pools, including Foundry and AntPool, have joined the Stratum V2 group. The collective is working to create an open standard for mining communication. The move brings together some of the largest players in Bitcoin mining under a single initiative.
The new members
Foundry and AntPool are among the seven pools that signed on. The other five were not named in the announcement. Together, the group now represents a significant share of Bitcoin's total hashrate. The Stratum V2 group was formed to develop and promote a next-generation mining protocol.
What Stratum V2 is
Stratum V2 is an upgrade from the original Stratum protocol, which has been the standard for mining communication for years. The new version offers features like better bandwidth usage, encrypted connections, and the ability for miners to choose their own transactions. By creating an open standard, the group hopes to avoid fragmentation and ensure compatibility across different hardware and software.
The participation of large pools like Foundry and AntPool gives the initiative credibility. With these pools on board, adoption of Stratum V2 could accelerate. But the transition isn't instant — it requires updates to mining firmware and pool software. The group's work will focus on finalizing the specification and encouraging broader adoption across the industry.
The next step for the Stratum V2 group is to publish a finalized version of the standard and begin working with hardware manufacturers to integrate support. No timeline has been given, but the involvement of major pools suggests progress could move quickly.
