In a notable display of integrity, Foundry USA Pool, the largest Bitcoin mining pool by hash rate, has returned an 8.18 BTC transaction fee worth approximately $777,000 that was overpaid due to an error. The mistake occurred on December 19 during the mining of block 875475, which included a transaction with a fee 91,127 times higher than necessary.
The Error and Refund Process
The error was discovered by Foundry, which promptly reached out to the sender and refunded the excess fee after assessment. The mining pool assured that this refund did not affect the payouts of its regular customers, as its payout system disregards the three highest and three lowest transaction fees each day.
Industry Reaction and Precedent
Foundry’s decision to refund the overpaid fee has been met with appreciation from the industry, with the company expressing gratitude to those who reached out on the user’s behalf. This incident marks the second such event in recent months, following a similar action by Antpool in November 2023, when it refunded a $3 million Bitcoin transaction fee due to a user error.
Foundry’s Market Position and Recent Developments
Foundry’s pool, with a massive hash rate of 273.6 EH/s, remains the largest in the industry, far surpassing Antpool’s 146.7 EH/s. The company controls almost 38% of the market share among pool operators, while Antpool accounts for 18%. However, Foundry recently underwent significant restructuring, laying off 60% of its workforce as part of its “realignment” strategy, which mainly affected employees outside of core operations.
Source: Cryptopotato.com
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