Bitcoin.com achieved a significant milestone on September 21, 2016, as its newly launched mining pool successfully mined its first Bitcoin block, number 430757, marking the entry of one of the cryptocurrency ecosystem’s most prominent platforms into the competitive mining landscape.
TL;DR
- Bitcoin.com mining pool mined its first block (#430757) on September 21, 2016
- The pool was the first large-scale mining operation fully dedicated to Bitcoin Unlimited
- CTO Emil Oldenburg led development alongside Bitcoin Unlimited core developers
- Pool offered 110% PPS block reward with zero fees — the most generous incentive in the industry
- Global infrastructure deployed across the United States, China, and Europe
The launch came at a pivotal moment in Bitcoin’s history. With the network facing growing transaction congestion and an intensifying debate over block size limits, Bitcoin.com’s decision to build a pool dedicated to Bitcoin Unlimited was as much a political statement as a business venture. The pool’s hashrate would vote for bigger blocks, directly challenging the prevailing consensus around the 1 MB block size limit that had constrained the network for years.
Building the Pool: A Collaboration of Expertise
Bitcoin.com’s Chief Technical Officer Emil Oldenburg spearheaded the development effort, working alongside Bitcoin.com developer Shaun Chong and two prominent Bitcoin Unlimited developers, Andrew Stone and Andrea Suisani. The collaboration brought together the platform’s commercial resources with the technical expertise of the Bitcoin Unlimited development community, creating a mining operation designed to compete with established pools from day one.
The pool’s architecture leveraged Bitcoin Unlimited’s Xthin technology and Xpedited blocks, enabling faster block transmission across a globally distributed relay network. Servers were deployed in three strategic locations — the United States, China, and Europe — ensuring low-latency connections for miners regardless of geographic location. This infrastructure was critical for minimizing stale blocks and orphan rates, factors that directly impact miner profitability.
An Unprecedented Reward Structure
What set the Bitcoin.com pool apart from competitors was its remarkably generous reward system. The pool paid 110% of the block reward on a Pay-Per-Share (PPS) basis while charging absolutely zero fees for both PPS and Pay-Per-Last-N-Shares (PPLNS) payment methods. This meant miners received more than the standard block reward, subsidized by Bitcoin.com itself, making it arguably the most profitable pool in the industry at launch.
“We are paying more on PPS than any other pool,” Oldenburg explained. “We pay a 110% block reward, and charge 0% fees for PPS and PPLNS. Bitcoin.com’s mining pool pays PPS directly instead of giving miners some fees after the blocks are mined. Our reward scheme is simpler and is guaranteed to make the miner more money regardless of luck.”
Fighting Congestion With Hashpower
Beyond the financial incentives, the pool represented Bitcoin.com’s strategic commitment to resolving the network’s growing congestion crisis. At the time, Bitcoin transaction fees were rising and confirmation times were becoming unpredictable, creating friction for users and businesses alike. By dedicating hashrate to Bitcoin Unlimited, which proposed removing the block size limit from consensus code entirely, Bitcoin.com was using its mining power as a vote for on-chain scaling.
Oldenburg was candid about the urgency of the situation. “We plan to build a transaction accelerator very soon as well,” he noted. “This congestion is causing massive problems on all fronts in the Bitcoin ecosystem.” However, he was clear that accelerators were merely a bandage: “I really wish transaction accelerators weren’t necessary. We need to remove the block size from the consensus code like Bitcoin Unlimited has done and let the blocks be as big as necessary.”
Rapid Growth Following Launch
The pool’s growth trajectory validated its aggressive incentive model. By October 2016, just weeks after mining its first block, the pool had already captured approximately 1% of the global Bitcoin network hashrate. The momentum continued, and by early 2017 the pool was operating at 80 petahashes per second, commanding 2.456% of the global hashrate — a remarkable achievement for a new entrant in a market dominated by established Chinese mining operations.
Why This Matters
The launch of Bitcoin.com’s mining pool on September 21, 2016, was far more than a business expansion. It was a strategic deployment of hashpower in service of a specific vision for Bitcoin’s future — one where blocks could grow to accommodate demand rather than constraining throughput at an artificial ceiling. The pool’s 110% PPS reward structure demonstrated that Bitcoin.com was willing to operate at a loss to attract miners who shared this vision, effectively subsidizing the block size debate with real economic resources. As Bitcoin traded around $597 and Ethereum sat at $13.77, the industry was still small enough for individual actors to meaningfully influence its direction through mining power. The choices made by pools like Bitcoin.com’s would ultimately shape the trajectory that led to Bitcoin’s eventual hard fork and the creation of Bitcoin Cash in 2017.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile, and past events do not guarantee future results. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
Bitcoin Unlimited dedicated pool with 110% PPS and zero fees. Roger was subsidizing hashrate to vote for bigger blocks, pretty transparent strategy
110% PPS with zero fees was Roger Ver basically paying miners to support bigger blocks. the economics only worked because he was subsidizing it out of pocket
110% PPS with zero fees was obviously unsustainable without outside funding. roger was buying votes plain and simple. the economics of the pool made zero sense otherwise
subsidy_proof 110 percent PPS means roger was paying out 10 percent MORE than the block reward from his own pocket. thats not a business its a political donation disguised as a mining pool
imagine launching a mining pool across US, China, and Europe in 2016. the infrastructure effort was massive for the time
Bitcoin Unlimited never got close to 75% miner support despite all the hashrate buying. the market chose small blocks and layer 2 and here we are
block 430757. the block size wars were so political. mining pools werent just businesses, they were lobbying vehicles
mining pools as lobbying vehicles is exactly right. the block size debate was never technical, it was political power dressed up as a scalability argument
satoshi quorum is right. the technical framing was a smokescreen. both sides knew it was about who got to steer btc development and by extension the narrative
Minh T. calling mining pools lobbying vehicles is spot on. the block size war was won and lost with hashrate not arguments
Bitcoin Unlimited never getting past 45 percent miner support despite all the subsidies proves the market eventually sees through bought hashrate. small block advocates won because their argument was technically sound
110 percent PPS at zero fees was literally paying miners to vote for bigger blocks. roger was subsidizing the entire thing as a political tool