Fractal Bitcoin has launched the FIP-101 update with support for leading pools

The Fractal Bitcoin network officially activated the FIP-101 consensus upgrade at block height 1,500,000. This marked the completion of the first phase of planned changes and the launch of a standardized index architecture. Most importantly, major mining pools agreed to this, signaling broad support among miners.

Major mining pools gave the green light to the upgrade

The update received approval from the five largest mining pools: Foundry, AntPool, ViaBTC, F2Pool, and Binance Pool. These leading pools collectively control approximately 85% of the total hash rate of the Bitcoin network — a figure that demonstrates the scale of consensus among miners. Such widespread agreement from key industry players indicates that the industry sees value in the changes proposed by Fractal Bitcoin.

The fact that the largest pools supported this upgrade was crucial. For any network, having unanimity among major mining operators is critical. When the main pools give their approval, it creates a chain reaction that simplifies the adoption of the update across the rest of the network.

New mining architecture: from 1:2 to a ternary structure

The core substantive change in FIP-101 is a redesign of how block production functions. The Fractal Bitcoin team planned a gradual transition from the current 1:2 structure (merged mining to solo mining) to a new tripartite model.

In the new system, mining will be distributed in a 1:1:1 ratio among three components: merged mining, solo mining, and index block production. This means index nodes will no longer operate as an auxiliary system. Instead, they will be integrated directly into the core block production process and the network incentive layer.

This architectural shift makes indexing a primary function rather than a peripheral one. It potentially enhances the resilience and scalability of the Fractal Bitcoin network, making the system more balanced and efficient in the long term.