Pool directory · since 2023
OCEAN
The decentralization-first pool: transparent TIDES payouts direct from the coinbase, miners can build their own block templates. Ideology and product in one.
The longer story
OCEAN, launched in 2023 with Jack Dorsey backing and Luke Dashjr as a founder, is the pool as ideology: TIDES payouts flow directly from the block reward (verifiable by anyone), and its DATUM protocol lets individual miners construct their own block templates — decentralizing the one power big pools quietly hold.
It suits miners for whom censorship-resistance at the mining layer matters more than smoothing every satoshi of variance. Its template-policy choices at launch were controversial — which is inseparable from the point it exists to make: miners, not pools, should decide.
Quick answers
- How does OCEAN pay miners?
- OCEAN uses TIDES — OCEAN’s transparent scheme with payouts flowing directly from the block reward, verifiable on-chain.
- How long has OCEAN been operating?
- OCEAN has operated since 2023 (United States) — in mining, payout track record is the trust signal that matters most.
- Is OCEAN transparent, and does it support Lightning payouts?
- Yes — it publishes an open-source stack and/or verifiable payout data. Lightning payouts are supported, which matters for small miners below on-chain payout thresholds.
Compare & alternatives
All mining pools → · Compare ASICs by efficiency → · What a pool actually does →