Fractal Bitcoin: A New Era in Joint Bitcoin Mining

Two of the top five Bitcoin mining pools, Antpool and f2Pool, have declared their support for co-mining Bitcoin. The program is a part of a brand-new endeavor that is modeled after the cryptocurrency Fractal Bitcoin. As compensation for their processing power, the miners in these pools will now be able to get fresh Fractal currency. Let's learn more about the project in this article.

What is Fractal Bitcoin?

Fractal Bitcoin is a blockchain project that builds upon the primary cryptocurrency and seeks to enhance its fundamental features. The platform is made especially to handle transactions using BRC-20, Runes, and Ordinals, three new Bitcoin-based token formats. The project has produced a federated mining technique known as Cadence Mining, which enables miners to get Bitcoin and Fractal Bitcoin concurrently using their computer resources.

Technical Infrastructure

Technically, Fractal is a layer-2 (L2) network that exists as a branch (sidechain) of the main Bitcoin network. According to the developers, it can generate transaction blocks every 30 seconds, which is around 20 times quicker than Bitcoin's fundamental processing speed. Operating the network's own nodes allows for this. 

Backed by UniSat

The creators of the UniSat cryptocurrency wallet, which serves as the foundation for utilizing Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens, also produced Fractal Bitcoin. Its creators declared in July that they had acquired an undisclosed sum of money as a strategic investment from the Binance exchange. According to TheMinermag, the project is tied to Craig Wright's Bitcoin Satoshi Vision and Roger Ver's Bitcoin Cash. The project team receives 50% of the first tokens issued from investors, early adopters, and advisers.

Historical Context: The Concept of Joint Mining

Over a decade ago, the concept of co-mining cryptocurrency first surfaced. The most prominent memecoin, Dogecoin, is one of the most well-known currencies that mines another cryptocurrency's mining power to produce coins on its own blockchain network. Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin, suggested this method in 2014 as a way to strengthen security on both networks. Since then, the Dogecoin project has been mining DOGE, its native coin, by utilizing the strength of the Litecoin blockchain network.

Expansion of Bitcoin’s Use Cases

In the past, a lot of market players just saw Bitcoin as "digital gold," utilizing it as a tool to increase in value over time. It is probable that in 2024, programmers will provide technological advancements that will endow the blockchain with new powers, hence multiplying the applications for which Bitcoin may be employed. Fractal Bitcoin falls within this category. 

This year, the Babylon project—which aims to stake the primary cryptocurrency—stands out among other tests and concepts. The platform secured $70 million in fundraising earlier this year, with Paradigm leading the charge. The project emerged as the pioneer in providing staking for Bitcoin. The biggest cryptocurrency is really created using the Proof-of-Work method, which means it cannot be used for staking, which is only supported by networks that employ the Proof-of-Stake algorithm, like Ethereum or Solana.

The Anduro Bitcoin second-level network was introduced by mining company Marathon Digital Holdings in the beginning of 2024. 

Conclusion

By enabling co-mining via the Cadence Mining protocol, Fractal Bitcoin offers a novel method of mining Bitcoin by enabling miners to earn both Bitcoin and Fractal Bitcoin at the same time. Fractal Bitcoin adds new token types including BRC-20, Runes, and Ordinals and improves transaction efficiency by extending the capabilities of the main cryptocurrency. This initiative, which has the backing of significant pools like f2Pool and Antpool, embodies a new wave of blockchain innovation that seeks to fortify and diversify Bitcoin's ecosystem in preparation for future uses.

SimpleSwap reminds you that this article is provided for informational purposes only and does not provide investment advice. All purchases and cryptocurrency investments are your own responsibility.