OCEAN co-founder Luke Dashjr resigned as chairman, chief technology officer and director on August 29 after reaching a mutual separation agreement with parent company Mummolin Inc. According to the latest joint statement, Mummolin repurchased all of Dashjr's equity, ending his ownership interest in the Bitcoin mining pool entirely. Neither party disclosed the value of the repurchase or Dashjr's former ownership percentage, leaving the financial terms undisclosed. The separation reflects the parties' different visions for the future of Bitcoin mining following the recent protocol developments. As per the joint announcement, this represents a formal separation by mutual agreement between the parties.
Bitcoin developers supporting BIP-110 are preparing a separate BLAKE2b proof-of-work chain for a proposed September 1 launch after an earlier minority branch failed to attract enough SHA-256 mining support. The new chain will replace Bitcoin's SHA-256d mining algorithm with BLAKE2b, which existing Bitcoin machines cannot run automatically. A rehearsal was arranged before the planned launch, with developers saying a successful test could be preserved in a Bitcoin Knots 29.4.1 release on September 1. However, the date should be described as a target rather than an irreversible activation deadline, as technical problems could require another release candidate and a reset to the last SHA-256 block. The proposed network uses BLAKE2b block headers that differ from Bitcoin's current format, meaning existing light clients and indexers may not recognize the new chain automatically.
The separation was attributed to 'different visions for the future of Bitcoin mining following the recent protocol developments' as stated in the joint announcement. The parties did not identify specific developments or explain areas of technical disagreement, leaving the underlying cause unresolved. Dashjr had previously stepped back from his OCEAN responsibilities earlier in August, and his permanent departure removes him from the company's leadership and ownership structure. The separation reflects fundamental disagreements about the direction of Bitcoin mining infrastructure and protocol development, with Dashjr now calling the main Bitcoin chain 'Spamcoin' and backing a breakaway hard fork scheduled for September 1. A dispute on August 31 between BIP-110 supporter Loogart and Ripple co-founder David Schwartz highlighted these tensions, with Schwartz rejecting the framing that supporters had tried to "fix the legacy chain."
OCEAN faced significant operational challenges in August, with hashrate falling 96% during the month and the pool routing customer power to a minority chain for approximately 18 hours without clear miner consent. The BIP-110 anti-spam soft fork that Dashjr championed required 55% miner support but peaked at only 2.53% signaling, causing the chain to stall after two blocks. Despite these setbacks, OCEAN continues operating as a transparent, non-custodial mining pool that sends mining rewards directly to participating miners. The company operates through Bitcoin Ocean LLC, a subsidiary of Wyoming-based Mummolin, and raised ₹51.8 crore ($6.2 million) in a 2023 seed round led by Jack Dorsey and other investors.
Bitcoin trades near ₹6.3 lakh ($77,655) with a 23.3% monthly gain despite the recent challenges, though hashrate has declined all year as miners leave for artificial intelligence contracts. Holders face practical questions about replay risk and wallet tracking during the September 1 hard fork, with Dashjr recommending light wallets over full nodes. The proposed BLAKE2b network faces significant infrastructure challenges, as no major exchange, mainstream wallet or Lightning implementation had publicly committed to supporting the breakaway chain before the planned launch. Without that infrastructure support, any inherited forked coins may initially lack a reliable market price or accessible trading venue. The practical effect on BTC depends on whether the breakaway network attracts miners, developers, wallets and trading venues after launch, with claims that it will replace, repair or materially threaten Bitcoin remaining disputed forecasts rather than established outcomes.
