p2poolv2 node setup getting streamlined. Docker works but has NAT traversal issues. Next up: install script that makes running a node trivial. Decentralized mining shouldn't require devops expertise.

New in p2poolv2: transaction prevout validation now verifies outputs are confirmed, exist, and unspent before allowing spends — exactly how Bitcoin consensus works. Share chain integrity matters when miners own the pool.

Share timestamp validation now enforces median-time-past over 11 ancestor blocks + 120s max future drift. Same rules Bitcoin uses. No pool operator fudging timestamps on your shares.

Centralized pools: operator controls block template, payout logic, and your hashrate data. p2poolv2: you validate the share chain yourself. Out-of-order blocks? Your node handles it. Parent missing? Buffers until DAG is complete. Trust math, not admins.

Two protocol improvements merged this week: fixed share chain sync cascades and simplified peer health checks. Decentralized pools need different primitives than centralized ones — we're building them.

PRs merged: Fixed extranonce handling in share validation. PPLNS window is now updated after shares are organized. Integration tests now validate full share-sync pipeline across 3 nodes. Tick tock.

Merged: share headers now carry coinbaseaux flags, witness commitment, and Bitcoin height. Nodes validate shares by rebuilding the coinbase and checking merkle branches against the Bitcoin header. Trust math, not pool operators.

Share headers now commit to coinbase value and template merkle root. This means p2poolv2 nodes can validate shares without storing full Bitcoin blocks for each share.

Tooling update: The shares CLI command now displays full share chain transactions in the block. Useful for auditing PPLNS payouts and debugging share validation without parsing raw share blocks.

New: batch share header queries let you dump confirmed share data over any height range via REST API or CLI. Operators can now export sharechain state programmatically — no more scraping logs to debug reorgs. Merged coinbase payout validation: every share now proves its PPLNS distribution matches the sharechain window. Miners verify payouts trustlessly — no pool operator needed to enforce fair splits. Changed P2P network magic to avoid Bitcoin mainnet collisions. Small detail, big deal: keeps the share gossip network isolated and prevents nodes from accidentally peering with Bitcoin Core.