Stratum V2 Mining Protocol

Overview

Bitcoin Commons implements the Stratum V2 mining protocol, enabling efficient mining coordination. Merge mining is available as a separate paid plugin module (blvm-merge-mining) that integrates with Stratum V2.

Stratum V2 Protocol

Protocol Features

• Binary Protocol: 50-66% bandwidth savings compared to Stratum V1
• Encrypted Communication: TLS/QUIC encryption for secure connections
• Multiplexed Channels: QUIC stream multiplexing for multiple mining streams
• Template Distribution: Efficient block template distribution
• Share Submission: Optimized share submission protocol

Code: mod.rs

Message Encoding

Stratum V2 uses Tag-Length-Value (TLV) encoding:

[4-byte length][2-byte tag][4-byte length][payload]

Code: protocol.rs

Transport Support

Stratum V2 works with both TCP and QUIC transports via the transport abstraction layer:

• TCP: Bitcoin P2P compatible
• Quinn QUIC: Direct QUIC transport
• Iroh/QUIC: QUIC with NAT traversal and DERP

Code: mod.rs

Merge Mining (Optional Plugin)

Overview

Merge mining is NOT built into the core node. It is available as a separate, optional paid plugin module (blvm-merge-mining) that integrates with the Stratum V2 module.

Key Points

• Separate Module: blvm-merge-mining is not part of the core node
• Requires Stratum V2: The merge mining module depends on blvm-stratum-v2 module
• One-Time Activation Fee: 100,000 sats (0.001 BTC) required to activate
• Revenue Model: Module developer receives a fixed percentage (default 5%) of merge mining rewards
• Not a Commons Funding Model: Merge mining revenue goes to the module developer, not to Commons infrastructure

Installation

To use merge mining:

1. Install Stratum V2 module (required dependency)
2. Install merge mining module: blvm-merge-mining
3. Pay activation fee: 100,000 sats one-time payment
4. Configure: Set up secondary chains and revenue share

Documentation

For complete merge mining documentation, see:

• blvm-merge-mining README - Module documentation
• Module System - How modules work

Server Implementation

StratumV2Server

The server accepts miner connections and coordinates mining operations:

• Accepts miner connections
• Distributes mining jobs
• Validates share submissions
• Coordinates merge mining channels

Code: server.rs

Pool Implementation

The StratumV2Pool manages mining pool operations:

• Job distribution
• Share validation
• Channel management
• Connection pooling

Code: pool.rs

Client Implementation

StratumV2Miner

The miner client connects to pools and submits shares:

• Connection management
• Job reception
• Share submission

Code: miner.rs

StratumV2Client

The client handles protocol communication:

• Message encoding/decoding
• Connection establishment
• Channel management
• Error handling

Code: client.rs

Configuration

StratumV2Config

[stratum_v2]
enabled = true
pool_url = "tcp://pool.example.com:3333"  # or "iroh://<nodeid>"
listen_addr = "0.0.0.0:3333"  # Server mode

Note: Merge mining configuration is handled by the blvm-merge-mining module, not in Stratum V2 config.

Code: mod.rs

Usage

Server Mode

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
use blvm_node::network::stratum_v2::StratumV2Server;

let server = StratumV2Server::new(
    network_manager,
    mining_coordinator,
    listen_addr,
);

server.start().await?;
}

Miner Mode

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
use blvm_node::network::stratum_v2::StratumV2Miner;

let miner = StratumV2Miner::new(pool_url);
miner.connect().await?;
miner.start_mining().await?;
}

Benefits

1. Bandwidth Efficiency: 50-66% bandwidth savings vs Stratum V1
2. Security: Encrypted communication via TLS/QUIC
3. Efficiency: Multiplexed channels for simultaneous mining
4. Flexibility: Support for multiple mining streams
5. Transport Choice: Works with TCP or QUIC

Components

The Stratum V2 system includes:

• Protocol encoding/decoding
• Server and client implementations
• QUIC multiplexed channels
• Transport abstraction support

Location: blvm-node/src/network/stratum_v2/

Note: Merge mining functionality is provided by the separate blvm-merge-mining module, not by the core Stratum V2 implementation.