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DEVELOPER_ATTRIBUTION_SYSTEM.md

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C2Pool Developer Attribution System

Overview

C2Pool implements a developer attribution system that ensures every block mined includes a developer attribution output in the coinbase transaction, while allowing miners to control the fee amount.

Behavior Summary

When --dev-donation 0 (Default)

  • Attribution: Exactly 1 satoshi is allocated to the developer address
  • Purpose: Software marking and attribution without significant fee
  • Benefit: Miners keep 99.999999% of block rewards
  • Example: On a 12.5 LTC block (1,250,000,000 satoshis), only 1 satoshi goes to attribution

When --dev-donation X (X > 0)

  • Attribution: X% of block reward goes to developer address
  • Purpose: Voluntary support for development
  • Range: 0.1% to 50% maximum
  • Example: --dev-donation 2.5 allocates 2.5% of block rewards

Implementation Details

Core Logic (in payout_manager.cpp)

uint64_t DeveloperPayoutConfig::get_developer_amount(uint64_t block_reward) const {
    if (configured_fee_percent == 0.0 && minimal_attribution_mode) {
        // Use minimal attribution (1 satoshi) for software marking
        return MINIMAL_ATTRIBUTION_SATOSHIS;  // = 1
    }
    
    // Use percentage-based calculation for donations
    double percentage = get_total_developer_fee();
    return static_cast<uint64_t>(block_reward * percentage / 100.0);
}

CLI Usage

# Minimal attribution (1 satoshi only)
c2pool --dev-donation 0

# Voluntary donation examples
c2pool --dev-donation 1.0    # 1% donation
c2pool --dev-donation 2.5    # 2.5% donation
c2pool --dev-donation 5.0    # 5% donation

Comparison with Traditional Fees

Scenario Dev Fee Amount (12.5 LTC block) Miner Gets
Traditional 0.5% 0.5% 6,250,000 satoshis (0.0625 LTC) 99.5%
C2Pool minimal 1 satoshi 1 satoshi (0.00000001 LTC) 99.999999%
Voluntary 1% 1.0% 12,500,000 satoshis (0.125 LTC) 99.0%
Voluntary 2.5% 2.5% 31,250,000 satoshis (0.3125 LTC) 97.5%

Benefits

  1. Miner-Friendly: When no donation is specified, miners keep almost all rewards
  2. Software Attribution: Blocks are still marked as produced by C2Pool software
  3. Voluntary Support: Users can choose to support development with any percentage
  4. Transparent: Clear documentation of fee behavior
  5. No Hidden Fees: No mandatory percentage fees beyond minimal attribution

Multi-Blockchain Support

The system supports developer addresses for:

  • Litecoin (LTC): Full implementation
  • Bitcoin (BTC): Address validation ready
  • Ethereum (ETH): Planned
  • Monero (XMR): Planned
  • Zcash (ZEC): Planned
  • Dogecoin (DOGE): Planned

Node Owner Fees

Additionally, pool operators can configure:

c2pool --node-owner-fee 1.5 --node-owner-address YOUR_ADDRESS

This is separate from developer attribution and allows pool operators to take a small fee for running the pool infrastructure.

Configuration Validation

The system enforces:

  • Developer donation: 0-50% maximum
  • Node owner fee: 0-50% maximum
  • Combined fees cannot exceed 51% (miners always get ≥49%)
  • Address validation for all configured addresses
  • Automatic fallback to minimal attribution if configuration errors occur

This ensures miners always receive the majority of block rewards while allowing flexible support for development and pool operation.