Peter Todd, a distinguished Bitcoin Core developer, has been appointed as the lead maintainer of Slipstream, a private Bitcoin mempool service at the MARA Foundation. This innovative service allows users to submit transactions directly to the MARA Pool, circumventing the traditional public relay network.
Slipstream has gained recognition for its ability to handle transactions that deviate from standard Bitcoin relay policies. This includes facilitating large Ordinals inscriptions and unique transaction formats utilized in BitVM experiments. Recently, MARA has emphasized Slipstream's role as a vital infrastructure for Bitcoin research and development.
One of the notable features of Slipstream is its capacity to limit transaction data exposure, which became particularly valuable during the Coldcard firmware vulnerability incident. Over 10,000 BTC has been successfully transferred from affected wallets using this service.
Todd's extensive background includes the creation of Libre Relay, an open-source Bitcoin Core fork aimed at relaxing restrictions on non-standard transactions. He is also a proponent of replace-by-fee policies and has contributed to significant proposals like BIP 125 and OpenTimestamps.
Expressing his enthusiasm for the role, Todd stated, “I most look forward to seeing what’s possible on Bitcoin—using Slipstream as a proving ground for experimental development and protocol innovation.” His vision aligns with MARA's mission to push the boundaries of Bitcoin technology.
