DMND and RootstockLabs Integrate Stratum V2 for Miner-Controlled Merge-Mining

Bitcoin mining pool DMND and RootstockLabs have announced a new integration that extends Stratum V2's block template construction capabilities to include merge-mining of the Rootstock (RSK) sidechain, giving individual miners direct control over sidechain block commitments ^[1].

Merge-mining allows miners to simultaneously mine multiple blockchains by embedding child chain block header commitments into their coinbase transactions. When a valid block is found on the parent chain, it counts as a valid block for the child chain as well - requiring no additional computational work from miners ^[1].

Under the new setup, miners who construct their own block templates through DMND's pool can independently select and include RSK sidechain commitments. Critically, they receive sidechain rewards in rBTC - Rootstock's bitcoin-backed token - directly on the sidechain, with no revenue sharing arrangement or custody by the pool ^[1].

Alejandro De La Torre, CEO and Co-Founder of DMND, framed the integration as a step toward greater miner autonomy: "The miner controls the merge mining and the miner gets paid for the merge mining," he said, describing increased miner control as central to the company's decentralization goals ^[1].

The announcement does acknowledge that merge-mining dynamics could potentially cut against decentralization in some scenarios, though the companies suggest real-world deployment will help answer those open questions ^[1].