OCEAN mining pool redirected some users' hashrate to the failed BIP-110 minority chain for about 18 hours without clear consent, sparking backlash and a sharp collapse in its reported hashrate. The incident has raised fresh questions about transparency and the power pools hold over Bitcoin's block construction.
How the redirect happened
Affected miners believed they were using non-BIP-110 Stratum templates, but their hardware mined blocks on a separate fork. OCEAN acknowledged that some miners using its Stratum templates may have been directed to the BIP-110 chain despite selecting the non-BIP-110 option. The pool didn't say how many users were affected or why the misdirection occurred.
Backlash and a quick retreat
The response was fast. An X user described the incident as a hashrate 'hijack' and called for the immediate removal of those responsible. Blockstream CEO Adam Back demanded that financial losses be deducted from OCEAN co-founder Luke Dashjr's salary. Roughnecks, the mining group behind the BIP-110 chain's only two blocks, abandoned the effort on August 9 and urged remaining miners to stop supporting the minority chain.
The fallout
OCEAN's reported hashrate collapsed. The incident raised broader concerns about transparency, miner autonomy, and the influence pools hold over Bitcoin's block construction process. Michael Saylor warned that the BIP-110 proposal could create a dangerous precedent for Bitcoin governance. Adam Back had previously called the BIP-110 campaign 'idiocracy'.
What's left
The rapid collapse of the BIP-110 chain proves that the Bitcoin ecosystem inherently rejects forced protocol changes and unilateral corporate interventions. OCEAN now faces a serious reputational crisis that could affect the pool long after the minority chain disappears. With Roughnecks out, the BIP-110 chain has no active backers, and OCEAN is left to rebuild trust with miners who say they were misled.
