Foundry enhances the security of Rootstock through Bitcoin merge mining

Foundry, the largest Bitcoin mining pool in the world, has started performing merge mining with Rootstock, the main Bitcoin sidechain. 

This update drastically increases the security of the network, making Rootstock even more resistant to attacks and ensuring immutable transactions. In this article, we will see all the details. 

Mining news: Rootstock becomes the most secure Bitcoin sidechain for loans, staking, and transactions

The landscape of Bitcoin mining has reached a new milestone with the announcement that Foundry, the largest Bitcoin mining pool, has started performing merge mining with Rootstock.

Rootstock is the longest-running and most advanced sidechain of Bitcoin, and this integration represents a significant step in the evolution of blockchain security. The adoption of Foundry brings over 740 exahash per second to protect the Rootstock network.

This value represents about 80% of the total Bitcoin mining power, making Rootstock more secure than the entire Bitcoin network was in October 2024. 

The increase in computing power ensures even more secure and unalterable transactions, strengthening the network against potential 51% attacks.

Thanks to this implementation, Rootstock automatically inherits all the security initiatives developed for Bitcoin, without the need for additional energy or hardware. 

Merge mining strengthens both the Rootstock blockchain and its native Bitcoin bridge, PowPeg. 

This mechanism ensures that peg-in and peg-out transactions are validated within the merge-mined Bitcoin consensus, making the bridge resistant to censorship and cyber attacks.

Since 2018, Rootstock has maintained impeccable security, without experiencing hacker attacks and with 100% uptime. The integration of Foundry takes this security to new levels, making any attempt to breach the network even more difficult.

Another advantage for miners who choose to participate in merge mining with Rootstock is the distribution of transaction fees.

In fact, 79% of the fees generated from transactions on Rootstock are paid in rBTC to the miners, making the operation economically advantageous as well as an additional incentive to strengthen the security of the network.

Rootstock: the safest solution for Bitcoin DeFi

Thanks to the integration with Foundry, Rootstock consolidates as the safest solution for those who wish to leverage Bitcoin in decentralized finance applications (DeFi).

Users can borrow, lend, and stake BTC with maximum security, benefiting from the protection guaranteed by Bitcoin’s proof-of-work and Rootstock’s infrastructure.

This innovation highlights how the Bitcoin ecosystem is evolving towards greater security and interoperability, with solutions that increase trust in DeFi without compromising decentralization.

In other words, with Foundry now an active part of the Rootstock network, the security of the sidechain is at its highest levels, offering users a more stable and secure environment to operate with Bitcoin.