The group includes Foundry, AntPool, F2Pool, SpiderPool and MARA Pool, together representing nearly 75% of global bitcoin hashrate.
The protocol lets individual miners, rather than pool operators, decide which transactions enter new blocks, shifting a key source of control away from large intermediaries.
The move is described as the biggest mining decentralisation shift in years, as crypto markets also watch US macro data, Federal Reserve leadership changes and industry earnings.
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Stratum V2 Adoption Accelerates: Seven Leading Bitcoin Mining Pools Drive Decentralization in 2026
Overview
In early 2026, seven major Bitcoin mining pools—including AntPool, Block Inc., F2Pool, Foundry, MARA Foundation, SpiderPool, and DMND—joined forces to adopt Stratum V2, marking a pivotal shift for the industry. This collective move highlights a broad recognition of Stratum V2’s ability to improve decentralization and resilience in the Bitcoin network. By moving away from the old Stratum V1 standard, where pool operators controlled which transactions went into new blocks, the industry is addressing long-standing concerns about centralization. The adoption of Stratum V2 empowers individual miners, making the network more robust and fair for all participants.