Once Bitten! A Bitcoin Podcast. Renting Hash Power To Decentralise Bitcoin Mining - Marcel - #602
Apr 5, 2026
A new market for renting hash power and how it could decentralise Bitcoin mining. The role of Datum and designing block templates so miners can use personal nodes. Hands-on setup and economics of renting hash via Brains versus hosting hardware. Why plebs might buy hash power to influence mempool policy, governance, and mining incentives.
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Renting Hash Power Puts Mining Control In Plebs' Hands
- Renting hash power lets individuals control mining policy without owning ASICs.
- Marcel shows 5 petahash rented via Brains equals ~22 S21 Pros, letting plebs influence mempool rules cheaply.
Bitcoin's Hashrate Size Makes Decentralization Tractable
- Total network hash is small enough that modest coordinated demand can shift control.
- Marcel calculates renting 5 PH out of ~1 million PH costs ~$1–2/day, so thousands of plebs can move meaningful share.
Mine Through Your Node Using Datum And Hash Markets
- Use Datum plus hash-rate markets to route rented hash to your own node and enforce your mempool policies.
- Marcel recommends Brains as an early marketplace where miners point hash and buyers assign it to Datum gateways.
