P2share: how to turn any network (or testnet!) into a bitcoin miner

The discourse revolves around the innovative concept of integrating privacy features into a mining pool structure, particularly within the Bitcoin ecosystem, through a proposed design known as p2share. This design seeks to incorporate a privacy layer reminiscent of MimbleWimble (MW) semantics into the sharechain, thereby enabling users to achieve privacy without having to leave the Bitcoin network. This is envisaged to be accomplished via atomic swaps between the main Bitcoin chain (mainchain btc) and the sharechain, which introduces an intriguing approach to enhancing user privacy within the cryptocurrency domain.

A significant challenge identified in this endeavor pertains to the selection process of a shareholder's public key within a MW-like sharechain network. The question raised concerns the feasibility of pseudorandomly and uniformly selecting a shareholder’s public key, a task that is relatively straightforward in Bitcoin's UTXO system where amounts are publicly tied to UTXOs. This simplicity facilitates the weighted selection based on the number of shares a participant holds. However, translating this mechanism to a sharechain with MimbleWimble-like privacy features presents complexities. The essence of MimbleWimble's privacy advantages makes the direct application of Bitcoin's UTXO model challenging without compromising the privacy benefits intrinsic to MimbleWimble.

In response to this dilemma, a potential solution is contemplated that involves adapting the sharechain's consensus rules. These modifications would require that each transaction output, including coinbases, be of equal amount, and that all transactions within the sharechain manifest as sharejoins from a blockchain analysis perspective. This approach aims at maintaining the desired level of privacy by ensuring that transactions do not reveal specific amounts associated with individual participants, thereby aligning with the privacy criteria initially aimed for in the p2share concept.