Add project roadmap: adoption priorities, merged mining coins, future plans

Priority 1: Miner adoption (observer page, payout history, block luck,
real ASIC validation via HiveOS).

Priority 2: Additional merged mining coins — PEP (chain_id=63), LKY,
JKC, BELLS, SHIC, DINGO. All use same createauxblock RPC interface,
no embedded daemons needed. DOGE alone is 73% of total revenue.

Priority 3: Infrastructure (Prometheus, webhooks, WebSocket).
Priority 4: Protocol (Stratum V2 for future BTC only, SSL/TLS).

Documents why Stratum V2 and MEV dashboard are not current priorities
for Litecoin/Scrypt mining.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: frstrtr

docs/ROADMAP.md

@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+# c2pool Roadmap
+
+## Current State (v36)
+
+- LTC sharechain: production-ready
+- DOGE merged mining: implemented (chain_id=98)
+- Stratum V1: full spec + ASICBoost + NiceHash/MRR compat
+- Web dashboard: full API
+- HiveOS/MinerStat/RaveOS: deploy templates ready
+
+## Priority 1 — Miner Adoption (v36.x)
+
+### Public P2Pool Observer
+A public website showing all c2pool nodes, total network hashrate, recent
+blocks found, and payout history. Builds confidence that the network is
+alive and paying. This is the #1 thing that convinces miners to join.
+
+### Payout History API
+`/miner_payouts/<address>` with historical block data, amounts, and
+confirmation status. Miners need proof that payouts happen reliably.
+
+### Block Luck Display
+Show "expected time to next block" on the dashboard based on current
+pool hashrate vs network difficulty. Helps miners set realistic
+expectations about variance.
+
+### Real ASIC Validation
+Test the full flow with Antminer L7/L9 via HiveOS flight sheet on
+Litecoin testnet. Validate: connection, vardiff ramp-up, share
+acceptance, block finding, DOGE merged payout.
+
+## Priority 2 — Additional Merged Mining Coins
+
+All Scrypt AuxPoW coins use the same `createauxblock`/`submitauxblock`
+RPC interface. No embedded daemons needed — operators run the coin
+daemon alongside litecoind and pass RPC credentials via `--merged`.
+
+### Revenue ranking (March 2026 prices)
+
+| Coin | chain_id | Daily Network USD | Exchange Liquidity | Priority |
+|------|----------|-------------------|-------------------|----------|
+| DOGE | 98 | $1,440,000 | Excellent (all majors) | **DONE** |
+| PEP | 63 | $4,500 | CoinEx, MEXC | HIGH |
+| LKY | TBD | $4,100 | MEXC, Gate | HIGH |
+| JKC | TBD | $560 | CoinEx | MEDIUM |
+| BELLS | TBD | $170 | Gate, MEXC | MEDIUM |
+| SHIC | TBD | $780 (fake liq.) | CoinEx | LOW |
+| DINGO | TBD | negligible | MEXC | LOW |
+
+### Implementation per coin
+Each new coin requires:
+1. Chain params entry: chain_id, address version bytes, RPC port default
+2. Address validation rules (bech32 HRP if any, base58 version bytes)
+3. Test with the coin's daemon (`createauxblock` / `submitauxblock`)
+
+The existing `MergedMiningManager` handles AuxPoW construction, merkle
+tree building, and block submission generically. Estimated effort per
+coin: 1-2 hours for params + testing.
+
+### Embedded daemon strategy
+Only DOGE justifies an embedded SPV node (73% of total mining revenue).
+All other coins: operators run external daemons. Rationale:
+- DOGE embedded node removes the #1 setup friction point
+- Small coins have trivial daemon setup (`docker run pepecoin-core`)
+- Embedding 7 daemons would bloat the binary and maintenance burden
+
+## Priority 3 — Infrastructure
+
+### Prometheus /metrics Endpoint
+Standard Prometheus exposition format for Grafana dashboards:
+```
+p2pool_connected_workers 6
+p2pool_pool_hashrate 948000000000
+p2pool_shares_accepted 15234
+p2pool_blocks_found 3
+```
+
+### Block Found Webhook
+`--block-webhook URL` — POST notification to external services (Discord,
+Telegram, monitoring) when the pool finds a block.
+
+### WebSocket Real-Time Updates
+Replace HTTP polling with WebSocket push for live dashboard stats.
+
+## Priority 4 — Protocol Enhancements
+
+### Stratum V2 (Binary + Noise Encryption)
+Not needed for Litecoin/Scrypt ASICs (no firmware supports it). Only
+relevant for future Bitcoin chain support. Can be added alongside V1
+on a separate port — no consensus change required, no V37 needed.
+
+### SSL/TLS Stratum
+Encrypted Stratum V1 connections for miners on untrusted networks.
+```
+--stratum-ssl-port 3334 --ssl-cert cert.pem --ssl-key key.pem
+```
+
+### mining.configure Extensions
+- `minimum-difficulty` — miner requests minimum diff floor
+- `mining.set_version_mask` — dynamic version mask updates mid-session
+
+## Not Planned
+
+### DigiByte (DGB) Merged Mining
+DGB does NOT support AuxPoW with Litecoin despite using Scrypt as one
+of its five algorithms. It would require DGB protocol changes (DIP-0012
+proposes AuxPoW but for Verthash, not Scrypt).
+
+### Auto-Switch Tool
+Automatically switching hash to c2pool based on centralization metrics.
+Niche use case — better served by a standalone monitoring tool.
+
+### MEV Dashboard (Litecoin)
+Transaction fee analysis showing "how much more you'd earn picking your
+own transactions." On Litecoin, fees are ~0.001 LTC/block — not enough
+to motivate behavior change. Only relevant for future Bitcoin support.