{
    "meta": {
        "title": "D-Central — Bitcoin Pool Transaction-Censorship & Mempool-Inclusion Scorecard",
        "description": "Behavioral scorecard for 23 Bitcoin mining pools: OBSERVED transaction filtering (dated incidents only), OP_RETURN/inscription data policy, KYC requirement, operator jurisdiction (labeled inferred where it is), block-template control and the escape hatch actually available to a miner today (DATUM, self-hosting, honest Stratum V2 status).",
        "generated": "2026-07-18T05:18:14+00:00",
        "version": "1.0",
        "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
        "license_name": "CC BY 4.0",
        "source": "https://d-central.tech/bitcoin-pool-censorship-scorecard/",
        "record_count": 23,
        "method": "OBSERVED filtering requires a dated public incident, anchored on b10c/miningpool-observer (which rebuilds a reference template per block and flags missing transactions, then screens fee-displacement and tx-age false positives by hand) plus contemporaneous reporting or operator acknowledgment. Jurisdiction and marketing language are labeled INFERRED and never counted as incidents. Flagged-then-cleared blocks (Foundry, ViaBTC, SBI Crypto) are recorded as none-observed. Evidence grade: A = multiple independent dated sources, B = single solid source, C = inference/unknown.",
        "provenance": "b10c miningpool-observer observations #8 (Nov 2023) and #13 (Jan 2025); operator statements (F2Pool co-founder Nov 2023, Marathon May 2021 press + reversal, OCEAN Dec 2023); pool documentation; Bitcoin Core v30 / Knots datacarrier policy record (2025).",
        "disclaimer": "A point-in-time editorial synthesis, not a live feed. Filtering behavior is intermittent and can change without notice — b10c-style observation only detects what happened in mined blocks. Unknown means unknown; it is not an accusation or an all-clear."
    },
    "rows": [
        {
            "pool": "Foundry USA",
            "jurisdiction": "United States (Rochester, NY; Digital Currency Group subsidiary)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "corporate registration",
            "kyc": "yes",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "standard-core",
            "opreturn_note": "Mines standard templates including large OP_RETURN/inscription transactions; no published filtering policy.",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None native today — FPPS, the pool builds the template; no Stratum V2 job declaration in production.",
            "evidence_grade": "B",
            "notes": "b10c's Sep-Oct 2023 sweep flagged one Foundry block missing an OFAC-sanctioned transaction but ruled it a false positive (fee-displaced), and Foundry later mined the same sanctioned addresses. Compliance risk here is INFERRED from US jurisdiction + KYC onboarding, not observed behavior."
        },
        {
            "pool": "AntPool",
            "jurisdiction": "China-origin (Bitmain-affiliated); operating entity offshore/undisclosed",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "inferred from Bitmain association",
            "kyc": "no",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "standard-core",
            "opreturn_note": "Mines inscriptions and large OP_RETURN data.",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None in production; SV2 working-group member, no live miner job declaration.",
            "evidence_grade": "B",
            "notes": "b10c's 2021 Taproot observation (some pre-activation P2TR spends not mined by F2Pool and AntPool) was standardness behavior before lock-in, not sanctions filtering. No OFAC filtering observed."
        },
        {
            "pool": "ViaBTC",
            "jurisdiction": "China-origin; operating entity offshore/undisclosed",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "inferred from founding history",
            "kyc": "no",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "standard-core",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None in production.",
            "evidence_grade": "B",
            "notes": "One flagged block in b10c's Sep-Oct 2023 sweep was concluded a false positive (transaction too young / fee-displaced); ViaBTC later mined the same sanctioned addresses."
        },
        {
            "pool": "F2Pool",
            "jurisdiction": "China-origin (co-founder Chun Wang); operating entity offshore/undisclosed",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "inferred from founder history",
            "kyc": "no",
            "observed_filtering": "observed",
            "incidents": [
                {
                    "date": "2023-11",
                    "what": "b10c/miningpool-observer identified four F2Pool blocks (Sep-Oct 2023) missing OFAC-sanctioned transactions; co-founder Chun Wang acknowledged running a transaction-filtering patch and said it was disabled 'for now'.",
                    "source": "b10c observation #8 (b10c.me/observations/08-missing-sanctioned-transactions/)"
                },
                {
                    "date": "2025-01",
                    "what": "b10c reported fifteen OFAC-sanctioned transactions missing from about nine F2Pool blocks mined in December 2024, concluding F2Pool might be filtering again; all were later mined by other pools.",
                    "source": "b10c observation #13 (b10c.me/observations/13-missing-sanctioned-transactions-2024-12/)"
                }
            ],
            "opreturn_policy": "standard-core",
            "opreturn_note": "Has mined non-standard/oversized OP_RETURN and inscription data — its observed filtering is OFAC-address-specific, not a data policy.",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None in production.",
            "evidence_grade": "A",
            "notes": "The only pool with a founder-acknowledged sanctions filter, applied intermittently. At its hashrate share this delays rather than prevents confirmation — the filtered transactions were mined by others in later blocks."
        },
        {
            "pool": "MARA Pool",
            "jurisdiction": "United States (MARA Holdings, Fort Lauderdale FL; Nasdaq: MARA)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "SEC filings",
            "kyc": "unknown",
            "observed_filtering": "observed",
            "incidents": [
                {
                    "date": "2021-05",
                    "what": "Marathon directed its hashrate to an OFAC/AML-compliant pool and mined its first 'clean' (censored) block in early May 2021, filtering sanctioned transactions.",
                    "source": "Marathon press release + Bitcoin Magazine, May 2021"
                },
                {
                    "date": "2021-05",
                    "what": "After community backlash, Marathon announced in late May 2021 it would stop filtering and move all miners to standard Bitcoin Core 0.21.1 — the reversal is the canonical precedent that public censorship costs a pool more than it earns.",
                    "source": "CoinDesk / The Block, May 31 2021"
                }
            ],
            "opreturn_policy": "standard-core",
            "opreturn_note": "Post-2021 reversal.",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None; MARA Pool is largely MARA's own fleet.",
            "evidence_grade": "A",
            "notes": "Historic, self-declared OFAC censorship — publicly abandoned within about four weeks. Listed as the reversed case, not a current filterer."
        },
        {
            "pool": "SpiderPool",
            "jurisdiction": "Asia-origin (INFERRED); operating entity not clearly disclosed",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "inferred from public profiles",
            "kyc": "unknown",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "unknown",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None documented.",
            "evidence_grade": "C",
            "notes": "Fast-growing FPPS pool. No filtering study covers it; the jurisdiction is inference, not a filing."
        },
        {
            "pool": "SECPOOL",
            "jurisdiction": "Asia (INFERRED); operating entity undisclosed",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "inferred from public profiles",
            "kyc": "unknown",
            "observed_filtering": "unknown",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "unknown",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None documented.",
            "evidence_grade": "C",
            "notes": "No transparency data; jurisdiction inferred only."
        },
        {
            "pool": "Luxor",
            "jurisdiction": "United States (Luxor Technology, Seattle WA)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "corporate registration",
            "kyc": "no",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "standard-core",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None native (FPPS, pool-built template).",
            "evidence_grade": "B",
            "notes": "US company reported to operate without mandatory miner KYC. No filtering observed; compliance risk is INFERRED from jurisdiction only."
        },
        {
            "pool": "Braiins Pool",
            "jurisdiction": "Czech Republic (Braiins Systems, Prague; formerly Slush Pool)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "company registration",
            "kyc": "no",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "standard-core",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "Stratum V2 transport is live (encryption, less stale work) and BraiinsOS+ ships a native SV2 client — but the SV2 Job Declaration protocol that would let a miner build its own template is not a confirmed generally-available customer option as of mid-2026. Honest status: SV2 efficiency yes, miner-side template selection not yet.",
            "evidence_grade": "B",
            "notes": "Authored the SV2 spec. Claims of full job-declaration support overstate today's practical status; treat the JD escape hatch as not yet real here."
        },
        {
            "pool": "OCEAN",
            "jurisdiction": "United States (Delaware; co-founded by Luke Dashjr)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "launch reporting",
            "kyc": "no",
            "observed_filtering": "observed",
            "incidents": [
                {
                    "date": "2023-12",
                    "what": "At launch (running Bitcoin Knots), OCEAN's default template filtered Ordinal inscriptions and rejected Samourai Whirlpool CoinJoin / BIP47 notification transactions whose 46-byte OP_RETURN exceeded the 42-byte datacarrier limit; Samourai publicly called it censorship and OCEAN acknowledged the inscription filtering.",
                    "source": "news.bitcoin.com + atlas21.com, Dec 2023"
                }
            ],
            "opreturn_policy": "filters",
            "opreturn_note": "Knots-based DEFAULT template restricts OP_RETURN size and inscriptions — a data policy, not OFAC-address filtering. Since Sep 30 2024, DATUM makes the restriction miner-overridable: each miner can build its own template.",
            "template_control": "miner-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "DATUM — live since Sep 30 2024: the miner runs the DATUM Gateway against their OWN bitcoind and builds their own block template while keeping pooled TIDES payouts. The strongest real escape hatch on any pool today.",
            "evidence_grade": "A",
            "notes": "Non-custodial, no KYC (payout address only), coinbase-paid rewards. Its filtering is a spam/data-policy stance the pool is open about — and the only 'filtering' incident on this scorecard that the affected miner can individually override."
        },
        {
            "pool": "SBI Crypto",
            "jurisdiction": "Japan (SBI Crypto Co., SBI Holdings subsidiary)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "corporate parent",
            "kyc": "unknown",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "standard-core",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None documented.",
            "evidence_grade": "B",
            "notes": "b10c's Jan 2025 analysis attributed an SBI block's missing sanctioned transaction to block-weight reservation / fee displacement, NOT filtering. Regulated Japanese parent implies an INFERRED compliance posture only."
        },
        {
            "pool": "Binance Pool",
            "jurisdiction": "Global/ambiguous (no single disclosed domicile)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "widely documented corporate structure",
            "kyc": "yes",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "standard-core",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None.",
            "evidence_grade": "C",
            "notes": "Mining requires a KYC'd Binance account. No documented transaction-filtering incident; occasional exchange-pool empty/near-empty blocks are propagation-latency behavior, not censorship."
        },
        {
            "pool": "Poolin",
            "jurisdiction": "China-origin (Hong Kong / Singapore registrations)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "founding history",
            "kyc": "no",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "standard-core",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None.",
            "evidence_grade": "C",
            "notes": "Greatly diminished since its 2022 withdrawal freeze; no filtering study covers current Poolin."
        },
        {
            "pool": "Carbon Negative",
            "jurisdiction": "UNKNOWN (operating entity undisclosed)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "none available",
            "kyc": "unknown",
            "observed_filtering": "unknown",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "unknown",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None documented.",
            "evidence_grade": "C",
            "notes": "Insufficient public information — recorded as unknown rather than guessed."
        },
        {
            "pool": "Ultimus",
            "jurisdiction": "UNKNOWN (Asia-origin INFERRED); operating entity undisclosed",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "inferred from marketing language",
            "kyc": "unknown",
            "observed_filtering": "unknown",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "unknown",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None documented.",
            "evidence_grade": "C",
            "notes": "Self-describes as 'compliant' — a marketing claim that might imply OFAC/AML alignment (INFERRED). No incident data exists either way."
        },
        {
            "pool": "WhitePool",
            "jurisdiction": "Europe (WhiteBIT exchange; launched Aug 2024)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "WhiteBIT announcements",
            "kyc": "yes",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "unknown",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None documented.",
            "evidence_grade": "C",
            "notes": "Exchange-operated FPPS pool inside a KYC'd exchange ecosystem. No filtering or template-transparency data available."
        },
        {
            "pool": "BitFuFu",
            "jurisdiction": "Singapore (BitFuFu Inc., Nasdaq: FUFU)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "Nasdaq listing",
            "kyc": "yes",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "unknown",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None (cloud-mining / hosted model).",
            "evidence_grade": "C",
            "notes": "Primarily a listed cloud-mining service; KYC required. No documented filtering."
        },
        {
            "pool": "EMCD",
            "jurisdiction": "Self-stated Hong Kong HQ; mixed-region infrastructure (Europe, Kazakhstan, elsewhere)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "operator self-report",
            "kyc": "no",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "unknown",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None documented.",
            "evidence_grade": "C",
            "notes": "No KYC for basic mining (states AML monitoring). Jurisdiction is a blended self-report, not a single clean domicile."
        },
        {
            "pool": "KuCoin Pool",
            "jurisdiction": "Seychelles (KuCoin exchange entity)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "corporate registration",
            "kyc": "yes",
            "observed_filtering": "unknown",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "unknown",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None documented.",
            "evidence_grade": "C",
            "notes": "Exchange-tied pool with mandatory KYC; minor hashrate, no transparency data."
        },
        {
            "pool": "Mining Squared",
            "jurisdiction": "UNKNOWN (operating entity not reliably documented)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "none available",
            "kyc": "unknown",
            "observed_filtering": "unknown",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "unknown",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None documented.",
            "evidence_grade": "C",
            "notes": "Operator and jurisdiction could not be verified from primary sources — recorded as unknown."
        },
        {
            "pool": "NiceHash",
            "jurisdiction": "Slovenia (NiceHash / H-BIT d.o.o.)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "corporate registration",
            "kyc": "tiered",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "standard-core",
            "opreturn_note": "",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "None for hashpower sellers — NiceHash is a marketplace: the BUYER directing the rented hashrate picks the pool and therefore the template policy.",
            "evidence_grade": "B",
            "notes": "Hashrate broker rather than a classic block-building pool; KYC tiers by activity/withdrawal volume."
        },
        {
            "pool": "Solo CK (solo.ckpool.org)",
            "jurisdiction": "Operated by developer Con Kolivas (Australia)",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "long-standing public operator identity",
            "kyc": "no",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "standard-core",
            "opreturn_note": "Operator states the pool does not filter any transactions and uses default Bitcoin Core selection.",
            "template_control": "pool-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "Self-host: ckpool-solo source is public, so you can run your own instance against your own bitcoind for full template control. The hosted endpoint builds a Core-default, unfiltered template for you.",
            "evidence_grade": "B",
            "notes": "No registration or KYC; solo reward model. 'Pool-controlled' is technically true of the hosted endpoint even though the rewards are solo."
        },
        {
            "pool": "Public Pool",
            "jurisdiction": "US-based maintainer; MIT-licensed, self-hostable",
            "jurisdiction_basis": "project repository",
            "kyc": "no",
            "observed_filtering": "none-observed",
            "incidents": [],
            "opreturn_policy": "standard-core",
            "opreturn_note": "Hosted instance templates come from the project's own Bitcoin Core node.",
            "template_control": "miner-controlled",
            "escape_hatch": "Self-host: fully open source with one-click Umbrel/Start9 deployment — the miner runs their OWN node and fully controls the template. The most accessible run-your-own-template path for Bitaxe/home miners.",
            "evidence_grade": "B",
            "notes": "The censorship-resistance value is in self-hosting against your own node."
        }
    ]
}