Probable censorship of OFAC-sanctioned transactions by the third-largest Bitcoin mining pool

Data Suggests F2Pool Censored OFAC-Sanctioned Transactions

Bitcoin has always been touted as a censorship-resistant form of money, allowing anyone to transact freely without restrictions. However, recent data from pseudonymous Bitcoin developer 0xB10C suggests that F2Pool, the third-largest Bitcoin mining pool, may have censored transactions sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

F2Pool is responsible for mining 13.7% of all Bitcoin blocks in the last year, indicating that a significant portion of the network could be under a censorship regime if this behavior continues.

It’s worth noting that two other major mining pools, Foundry USA and AntPool, require Know Your Customer (KYC) information from their miners. This trend toward centralization raises concerns about compliance and censorship in Bitcoin’s network.

4 OFAC-Sanctioned Transactions Intentionally Censored

The latest findings from 0xB10C reveal that F2Pool likely censored four out of six OFAC-sanctioned transactions. Specifically, data indicates that several mined blocks intentionally excluded these transactions, despite having competitive fees compared to others.

This behavior raises questions about the potential for future censorship and its impact on Bitcoin’s core value proposition.

Update: F2Pool Co-Founder Disables Transaction Filtering

Following these revelations, F2Pool’s co-founder, Chun Wang, announced that the mining pool would disable its transaction filtering patch until a more comprehensive consensus is reached within the community. This acknowledgment confirms the intentional censorship and underscores the need for further discussion on this topic.

Hot Take: Implications of Censorship in Bitcoin Mining

The recent revelations about F2Pool’s actions have sparked discussions about the implications of censorship in Bitcoin mining. While the co-founder’s decision to disable transaction filtering is a step in the right direction, it highlights the need for ongoing vigilance and collaboration within the Bitcoin community to uphold its core principles of decentralization and permissionless transactions.