Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr has separated from Ocean, the mining pool he co-founded, resigning as chairman, chief technology officer and director by mutual agreement, according to a joint statement from Ocean parent Mummolin Inc. and Dashjr. The company said it repurchased all of his equity as the two parties pursue different visions for the future of Bitcoin mining. The announcement ends Dashjr’s tenure at a pool he helped launch in 2023 as a self-custody alternative to the large operators that dominate Bitcoin hashrate.
A Split Over Mining’s Direction
The statement, dated August 29 from Cheyenne, Wyoming, ties the separation to recent protocol developments. Dashjr has long argued for changes to Bitcoin’s rules and was at the center of a controversy earlier this year over the BIP-110 proposal, which sought to restrict certain inscriptions on the network. Ocean will continue operating as a transparent, non-custodial mining pool that bills itself as the world’s first fully permissionless Bitcoin pool, letting miners receive block rewards directly rather than through a custodial intermediary. That positioning has made Ocean a small but symbolically significant player in the debate over who controls Bitcoin’s hashrate.
Convoy Takes Up the Decentralization Mission
Dashjr will now build Convoy, announced under the handle @CONVOY_Mining, to continue what the statement calls the mission to decentralize Bitcoin mining. Ocean, which launched in 2023, is among the efforts trying to move hashrate away from large custodial operators. The split leaves both ventures competing for a small pool of miners who prioritize self-custody and transparency, and it removes a prominent protocol voice from the operation he helped found.
What the Departure Means
Dashjr’s exit follows months of friction over his role as a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal editor, which drew calls for his removal. The statement did not disclose financial terms of the equity repurchase or a launch date for Convoy, leaving the practical impact on mining decentralization to be measured over time. Both sides framed the split as amicable, but the competition between two self-described decentralization efforts will now unfold without the founder’s involvement.