Slush Pool / Braiins
Slush Pool / Braiins is a Bitcoin company in the Mining Pools category, founded in 2010 by Marek 'Slush' Palatinus.
The Idea
The world's first Bitcoin mining pool. In November 2010, Palatinus solved the problem of unpredictable income for solo miners by creating a pool where miners could combine hashrate and share rewards. Originally called bitcoin.cz Mining Pool.
Early Traction
Invented the concept of pooled mining, which became the standard for the entire industry to reduce block variability. Also developed the Stratum mining protocol used by virtually every pool.
Peak Stats
Mined over 1.3 million BTC since inception, more than 9% of all blocks ever produced.
Status Today
Active at scale as Braiins Pool. The company (Braiins) also develops mining firmware, management software for mining ops, and the Stratum V2 protocol. Palatinus went on to co-found SatoshiLabs/Trezor. The company Braiins was founded separately in 2011 by Jan Capek and Pavel Moravec who acquired the majority stake from Palatinus in 2013.
Why It Matters
Without pooled mining, Bitcoin mining would have remained viable only for those with enormous individual hashrate. Slush Pool created an entirely new business category with more rig operator competition.