Tether Directs Bitcoin Mining Hashrate to Ocean Pool for Decentralization

Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, has announced its plan to direct both its existing and future Bitcoin mining hashrate to Ocean’s mining pool. This strategic move, revealed on April 15, 2025, is aimed at bolstering the decentralization of the Bitcoin network by supporting an alternative to the dominant mining pools that currently control a significant portion of the block-building process.

Ask Aime: What impact will Tether's move to direct hashrate to Ocean's mining pool have on the decentralization of the Bitcoin network and on the current dominant mining pools?

Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, explained the rationale behind this decision, stating that deploying hashrate to ocean aligns with the company’s broader mission to fortify Bitcoin against centralizing forces. This partnership is a significant endorsement for Ocean, which currently mines only a small fraction of Bitcoin blocks, ranging from 0.2% to 1%.

The partnership will leverage Ocean’s DATUM protocol across all of Tether’s global mining operations, including sites in Uruguay, Paraguay, el Salvador, and rural areas in Africa. The DATUM protocol allows miners to build their own block templates independently, reducing dependency on centralized intermediaries that typically control transaction selection and block creation.

Ocean, created by Bitcoin core developer Luke Dashjr in 2023, has received backing from prominent figures in the industry. The mining pool relocated its headquarters to El Salvador in May 2024, the same country where Tether is headquartered. This strategic alignment is expected to enhance Ocean’s mining capabilities significantly, as Tether’s commitment will likely provide a much-needed boost to its operations.

Tether’s deployment of the Ocean protocol extends to its operations in Africa, where the company has been investing in infrastructure and education. The DATUM Gateway protocol is designed to support mining in regions with limited internet capacity, enabling low-latency and high-throughput mining across diverse geographies. This initiative builds on Tether’s ongoing work in Africa, which includes partnerships with platforms to promote digital asset literacy. The company plans to enable on-site deployment of block template software in rural regions.

Giv Zanganeh, Tether’s VP of Mining and Energy, noted that adopting Ocean followed “months of deep technical evaluation.” The DATUM protocol’s architecture offers the flexibility needed for Tether’s decentralized mining strategy. By enabling on-site generation of unique block templates and aggregating thousands of rig connections with low-latency performance, the system aims to ensure global competitiveness while promoting geographic diversity in mining operations.

Luke Dashjr, Ocean’s chairman and CTO, stated that Tether’s deployment “reinforces the importance of censorship-resistant mining protocols.” Mark Artymko, Ocean’s president, added that Tether’s participation confirms the pool’s commitment to network neutrality. This partnership represents another step in Tether’s expanding Bitcoin strategy, which also includes plans to make its stablecoin available via Bitcoin and its layer-2 Lightning Network.

Tether’s involvement with Ocean comes after the stablecoin issuer announced a $500 million investment in Bitcoin mining in late 2023. The company currently deploys hashrate at multiple international locations and is the issuer of USDT, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. This strategic move is expected to enhance the decentralization of the Bitcoin network, promoting a more resilient and censorship-resistant ecosystem.