Alexey Russkikh

The era of solo mining is long gone. The ratio of computing power and network complexity does not allow receiving a reward for signing a block. Today the only way to mine cryptocurrency - they will unite in mining pools. However, many miners fail when choosing a pool due to a lack of understanding of the operating principles, specifics, differences and other features of mining pools.

In this article we will look at everything related to mining pools: from their differences to choosing the best servers for specific cryptocurrencies.

Definition of mining pool

A mining pool is a kind of server whose main task is to divide computing tasks into many subtasks. The latter are distributed among all participants who are connected to the pool. Initially, mining existed; their computing power was enough to independently mine cryptocurrency.

As the complexity of the network grew from attracting new participants, the sphere of “coin” mining moved to video cards. Mining on processors is a thing of the past due to minimal profitability (and later, complete lack of profit).

Subsequently, the process of increasing mining complexity led to the fact that without combining capacities, miners could no longer mine cryptocurrency. It is important to consider that a mining pool is not a completely collective mining operation with an even distribution. It is rather a division of tasks, where each participant makes a profit, depending on the effort (power) invested.

Principle of operation

The contribution is assessed by the concept of a “share” (from English share), which is part of the computational hash function for signing a block. The server's task includes not only distributing tasks, but also checking their validity. When the “share” meets the complexity values ​​required for signing a block, the operation is confirmed.

The reward received by the pool is distributed to all miners, depending on the number of valid “shares” transferred (depending on the method of reward in a particular pool). Moreover, who signed the “share” block has no influence on the final distribution of the reward.

Each such server is a full-fledged business that “lives” on commissions collected from users. Mining pools may underestimate overall computing performance to obtain additional profit from “unaccounted power” (the so-called “hidden commission”), but such servers instantly end up in negative ratings and blacklists, losing all participants.

In technical terms, the design of a mining pool cannot be called complex. It is a dedicated server that distributes tasks. Moreover, the pool does not require complex configuration (if you already have ready-made templates). However, the key aspect is to attract participants, which is based on:

• Powerful advertising.
• Reputation of the mining pool.
• Security.
• Favorable conditions for participants (low commission and other privileges).

You should also remember about the “51% rule”, which is a direct threat to centralization and allows you to attack any cryptocurrency. Once this point is reached, the pool should potentially announce its liquidation unless the collection of high capacities serves specific purposes.

Types of mining and methods of reward

In the field of cryptocurrency mining, there are three mining methods:

1. Solo.
2. Collective (in Pool).
3. Cloudy.

The latter stands out noticeably from the rest, since it does not require equipment; it is often classified as an investment rather than a “digging”. Solo mining is almost completely a thing of the past. This is due to the growing complexity of networks and the demand for digital money mining.

New “coins” rely on solo mining, but as they develop and attract participants, “loners” will quickly be replaced. An example is mining Pirl coin solo without a pool. Therefore, collective mining, with the pooling of capacities, is the only way to compete in the field of cryptocurrency mining.

One of the key factors when choosing a server is the reward method that is used on a particular resource. It can affect your bottom line and can either increase or decrease your earning potential. There are more than 20 payment methods, although PPS and PPLNS are considered the most popular and widespread. The simplest PROP method is becoming less and less popular, gradually becoming a thing of the past.

P.P.S. or Pay Per Share– for participants this type of remuneration is considered the most promising. When a block is found, each participant receives income for each “ball” sent. The amount is calculated for the user based on the reward divided by the network complexity. Despite the fact that this distribution principle is the most profitable for miners, it is riskier for pool owners, which usually leads to higher commissions.

PPLNS—Pay Per Last N Shares– the method is considered one of the most profitable and does not include payments for each “ball”. Accruals are made not for searching for a block, but for so-called “shifts”, which represent certain time intervals. The method is in many ways similar to PROP, but differs in a “slow start” when calculating rewards.

That is, the calculated power indicator will increase to the maximum gradually (only after reaching the peak value will payments be full). But even if you are disconnected from the mining pool, payments will occur until the estimated capacity drops to zero.

In addition to the three above methods of remuneration, there are the following types:

Solo	CPPSRB	PPSW
PPS+	Geometric	POT
SMPPS	DGM	BPM
ESMPPS	FPPS	Eligius
Puddinpop	HBPPS	Triplemining
RSMPPS	RBPPS	Score

How to choose a good mining pool?

Choosing a mining pool for beginners can be a daunting task, especially with the huge variety of servers available. First of all, the pool must be financially profitable; this is the primary and only important criterion. The following options will help you choose the most profitable, safe and stable option.

Hashrate

The power of a particular pool directly affects its potential for finding new blocks, and therefore the income of participants. It is for this reason that the resources created among the first are the most popular.

Any new servers, despite their features, cannot attract as many participants, which means they will lose in power and efficiency in searching for blocks.

Commission amount

This criterion cannot be called decisive, but it also contributes to the income received from mining. Before choosing a server, make at least a superficial comparison of different pools in terms of commission size. In the long term, this may affect your earnings.

Reward system

An important indicator that needs to be correlated with your own capacities in order to extract the most favorable conditions. For example, with proportional profit sharing, in the case of low capacity, the level of income will be unusually low due to the insignificant contribution.

Therefore, the choice of a reward system will be important if it meets the conditions (for ASICs or large centers it is different and selected individually).

Location

An important parameter. In this regard, there is an opinion that it is best to choose servers that are located as close to the equipment as possible. This will ensure a stable connection and minimal ping.

The immediate geographical location is of secondary importance. To select the best connection, use the "ping" command with the server address.

TOP 5 pools for Bitcoin

Let's look at the largest Bitcoin mining pools, which provide the best conditions for cryptocurrency mining.

BTC.com

The undisputed leader, which, according to statistics, occupies a huge part of the total network hashrate (16.8% in monthly terms and 18.3% in annual monitoring). Its peculiarity lies in its low commission (1.5%) and the use of a modified and unique reward system. For this, a more advanced version of PPS is used, which involves full payment per ball (FPPS). Specializes in algorithm.

Opened in 2016, although the brand was known earlier for creating a popular wallet. Main servers are located in China and Germany, and the company is also planning to expand to Canada and Switzerland.

Another largest pool that stands out thanks to its functional panel and the ability to choose a reward method. Part of the Bitmain concern, a company that produces ASICs. According to annual statistics, it is in second place, occupying 13.1% of the total capacity.

Low payouts are considered a disadvantage; the use of peer-to-peer connections is also considered a disadvantage.

The third largest and one of the very first pools that were created (2010). Great for beginners due to its simple interface and navigation. A huge advantage is that the servers are located all over the world, which ensures good ping.

According to annual statistics, it occupies 10.6% of the total hashrate. It is distinguished by high stability, a reliable reputation and a program for demo mining (familiarization with the process for novice miners). TO conditional deficiencies You can include a commission that is slightly higher than that of its closest competitors - 2%.

A popular resource that allows you to mine BTC, Litecoin and 8 other major cryptocurrencies. In terms of annual hashrate, it ranks 7th (6.8%). The downside is the increased commissions for major cryptocurrencies – 4%. The minimum commission on the server is only for Dashcoin, ETN and LTC, it is 2%.

Large mining pool, occupies 10.2% of the total network hashrate according to annual statistics. Does not require mandatory registration and supports the two most popular reward systems: PPS and PPLNS. The pool is registered in China and has been operating since 2013, during which time it has gained a reliable reputation and a huge number of participants.

TOP 3 pools for Ethereum

Let's look at the top of the largest and most famous pools that make it possible to effectively mine Ether.

One of the largest pools, the second most powerful among all servers (24-26% of the total annual hashrate). The number of participants exceeds 140 thousand people. It also allows you to mine “coins” without registration. The only significant disadvantage can be considered an additional commission of 0.001 ETH, which is charged when withdrawing less than 1 ETH.

The undisputed leader, which ranks 1st in terms of power for Ethereum (28.7% of power according to the average annual indicator). Supports the production of 5 “coins”, including the quite rare Beam and Grin. Reward system – PPS+ (combines the advantages of PPLNS and PPS). For all “coins” the withdrawal commission is 1%.

One of the largest resources for mining ether, as well as Zcash and several other “coins”. Supports PPLNS reward system. It ranks 4th in power among all servers for ETH (almost 11% of the total hashrate). Also considered one of best pools for RVN mining, supports 8 cryptocurrencies in total.

The pool charges a commission of 1%.

TOP 3 pools for Monero

Among the pools that are very popular in Monero mining are the following servers.

mineXMR

One of the main pools for Monero mining, with a share of the total network hashrate of 17-19%. It is considered one of the very first servers for Monero, which was launched in 2014. Reward system – PPLNS, fixed commission – 1%.

supportXMR

The peculiarity of this pool is that it supports mining exclusively Monero. It also stands out lowest commission among all large servers – 0.6%. It also occupies a leading position in terms of uptime, the value reaches 100%.

Popular service cloud mining, which is also one of the leaders for Monero and Bytecoin. Supports up to 11 popular coins, including Etc, Bitcoin Gold and others. Withdrawal commission – 1%.

List of other popular servers

Many popular pools support several cryptocurrencies, and large multipools even allow you to mine more than 10 “coins”. Giants such as NiceHash work with all algorithms: from popular ones and SHA-256, to less popular ones, like DGB on Qubit.

In addition to the number of cryptocurrencies, pools are often classified according to requirements and operating conditions, where the main place is occupied by the registration process. For some servers it is mandatory, while others allow access without registration.

The expressions “digital currency” or “electronic money” will not surprise anyone now. Virtuality has long become a reality, and money that circulates only online is becoming more and more popular. You can not only use cryptocurrencies to pay when purchasing goods and services, you can also earn them in world wide web. In this article we will review the best mining pools, look at their features and talk about the basics of mining.

First, let's understand the basic terms. Cryptocurrency is a specific monetary unit that circulates on the Internet. They do not have a single bank, all money is stored in users’ digital wallets, and payments are completely hidden. Using your computer, you can receive new electronic money by mining.

What types of cryptocurrencies can you mine?

• Bitcoin,
• Dogecoin (based on Litecoin),
• Dash,
• Monero,
• Ethereum.

There are many other digital currencies, but these are considered by analysts to be the most promising.

Mining requires installation of a special software, which can be downloaded on the official websites of cryptocurrencies, the addresses of which are available on the Internet. A reward in the form of digital coins is given to the user who, through complex mathematical calculations, has found a new block - data to confirm the transfer. As soon as a solution is found and the reward is transferred, look for the updated block again. The reward for each cryptocurrency is different; in one of the most popular Bitcoin systems it is now equal to 25 coins.

Cryptocurrency mining farm - estimate the scale of mining.

A single user can start mining solo, but the efficiency of mining depends on the speed of the entire system, so the equipment must be powerful. Recently, the reward for mining has become less and less, and the requirements for the speed and quality of computers have become increasingly higher. It is already almost impossible to earn crypto coins alone, so many independent users join together in a pool. In this network, the mining process is divided among all participants and becomes joint, which significantly reduces the time for solving. After finding a new block, the reward is divided among all participants. To connect to a pool, you often just need to register your account and download the software. Next, you need to go through indexing through a BTC wallet, if you already have one, if not, then start creating it and start mining coins.

This is how they mine in home-made conditions.

For self-mining you will need a very powerful graphics card and a high-speed processor. But even in this case, the probability of profit is very low - the computer will have to work for days, and all the bitcoins or other coins earned will simply be eaten up by electricity bills. It is much more profitable to invest the same money not in upgrading your computer, but to buy a share in a cloud pool. You need to pay for a share of the data center’s capacity and wait for profit. Everything that the cloud pools mine will be divided among their shareholders.

The most popular cloud pools of 2018

Cloud pool	Annual income	Beginning of work
Hashing24.com	75%	11.11.16
HashCoin.io	155,00%	26.04.16
HashFlare.io	130,00%	23.04.15
Eobot.com	45,00%	23.12.03

The predecessors of pools were computer farms - these were racks with video cards placed on them, working around the clock. At first they brought in good income, but the difficulty of mining has increased significantly since then, and now pools rule the roost.

Mining pools

The list of mining pools is extensive - there are already more than one and a half thousand of them in the world. The vast majority of users work through Bitcoin pools. The level of difficulty in mining this currency is so high that you cannot make a profit alone, even with a supercomputer. Therefore, more and more new pools are being formed. There are other cryptocurrencies, younger than Bitcoin, that are faster and easier to mine. But they have no real value on the network, and you can earn them only with the hope that their rate will increase in the future, and this is more like speculative mining.

The most powerful mining pools. Top 5

Let's look at the largest and most common mining pools in 2018.

1. F2Pool (Discus fish) is a Chinese service, operating since 2013, the only one who practices the PPS payment system. This resource currently holds about 1/5 of the entire network hashrate. The service recommends immediately withdrawing money from your accounts, since everything that remains there after 90 days goes to the development of the pool. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cynVOKJHez8)
2. AntPool is also Chinese with a power comparable to that of F2Pool (18% hashrate). There is a choice of Russian-language interface. Uses different systems payments, it is possible to withdraw your earnings without any commission.
3. BTC China - this Chinese service does not have a Russian interface, the ability to use in English is limited, so it is not very popular, despite the 10-12% hashrate.
4. BW pool is a Chinese project, with its help you can mine bitcoins, holds up to 9% of the network power. Profit is paid using the PPLNS system, without commission.
5. Bitfury is the only top 5 pool located in Europe. It is owned by a company that sells computer equipment with offices in Iceland and Georgia. Engaged in bitcoin mining (controls more than 15% of the Bitcoin network), third-party participants are prohibited from entering.

These five largest pools together account for more than 50% of the network’s power, the remaining pools account for no more than 5%, so ranking them is pointless. However, many of them are interesting in their characteristics, and we will look at some.

Other mining pools

Mininggrirentals is a convenient and understandable service for Bitcoin mining. The English-language resource offers to rent “drilling rigs” and mine coins. The commission is small, you can withdraw money immediately.

Minergate is a powerful pool for mining Bitcoin, Ethereum and other currencies. You need to download the program to your computer, make the settings, and mining will proceed automatically. What you have mined can be immediately withdrawn to your personal wallet minus a small commission.

Zpool is an American service without registration, user-friendly interface Suitable for a novice miner. Withdraws money only in Satoshi. A unique script provides high profitability to the pool.

Slush is a mastodon in Bitcoin mining, the world's first pool, successfully operating since 2010. It uses 5% of the network power, came up with its own profitable payment system, takes a 2% commission, and recently introduced support (Zec). You can mine Bitcoin and Namecoin.

Eligius - registration is optional, a Bitcoin wallet is used to log in, coins can be withdrawn without commission, its share is 4% of the power.

Ghash.io - a once powerful pool, reaching up to 50% of the total network power, now shows a modest 2-3%. It works without commission, there is a convenient cryptocurrency exchanger. There is a multipool here that offers to mine many currencies based on the Scrypt algorithm.

Mining Pool Hub is one of the most promising mining services, suitable for beginners and professionals.

Ethereum mining pools

Ethereum is a second-generation cryptocurrency that is predicted to replace Bitcoin.

Ethpool.org is the first official Ethereum mining pool; due to the growing popularity of this currency, it was impossible to join it, and the pool only worked with old ones. The capacity of this pool is about 20%. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHBFzomlHuw

ETH Nanopool - about 40% capacity, pool commission 2%. The pool is actively developing and growing.

Ethereumpool - has been operating for more than 2 years, has a capacity of about 2%, a commission of 2%, a fixed fee for withdrawal.

If you are new to mining, you can try mining on your computer with your own software. You can mine with a video card or on a processor. This will be enough to mine currencies such as Dogecoin (created on the basis of Litecoin) and Monero. You can start mining the popular altcoin Dash, it’s suitable for this NVIDIA video card. However, such methods are suitable only for initial experiments; the profit will be small.

IMPORTANT! It is becoming more and more difficult to mine cryptocurrency every year, the reward is decreasing, and the demand for it is only growing.

Which mining pool to choose?

Before you make your choice, compare the pools you like according to some parameters:

• pool power - new pools that have not yet reached the required capacity will not be able to offer you decent profits, determine the best options for yourself, study analyst ratings, find statistics on pool performance, for example here BTC.com or here Blockchain.info.
• Evaluate your own equipment - perhaps you need to increase the performance of your video card, and then mining will not be such a profitable activity. If you mine with old equipment, the profit will not even cover the cost of electricity,
• method of sharing profits - most often, the income from solving blocks is divided in proportion to the contribution of the participants; if you cannot make your significant contribution, then an equal distribution will be more profitable,
• payments - find out if it is possible to withdraw the mined money to a card or e-wallet, as well as the commission percentage of the service.

Earning money through mining cannot be called a reliable income, but for many it has become in a convenient way passive cash inflow. The review of mining pools is, of course, incomplete; it is impossible to cover all services. The user will determine the best of them himself, based on his capabilities and tasks.

More than four years have passed since the advent of group mining technology. During this time, hundreds of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency mining pools appeared and closed, new reward distribution systems were invented, communication protocols and switching between forks were improved. Several times, situations arose where one pool or organization approached the limit of 50% of the total network hashrate and even exceeded it.

Today the situation looks more stable, and none of the major players in the mining market has a decisive advantage. Below is a list of the largest Bitcoin pools.

Chinese four

The mining of the most popular cryptocurrency has the toughest competition, in which Chinese pools have held undeniable superiority for a long time. By a wide margin, the ranking is headed by the five largest “mines”, and four of them are located in China:

F2Pool (Discus fish)

Connection string stratum+tcp://stratum.mining.eligius.st:3334.

Ghash.io

Ghash.io– just a year ago, the undisputed leader in Bitcoin mining, who repeatedly reached the level of 50% of the network hashrate, today is content with modest 2-3% . Owned by the CEX.io exchange. Previously, this pool operated a cloud mining service of the same name, which was stopped at the beginning of the year. Almost all of their own equipment consisted of miners from Bitfury, now obsolete. This giant was crippled by both the shutdown of the cloud and the creation of Bitfury’s own pool - now new equipment is going there.

However, the pool continues to operate. It has merged mining NMC and a multipool offering big choice digital currencies based on the Scrypt algorithm. The main reward system is PPLNS no commission.

Bitminter

All other pools usually mine no more than 1-2 blocks per day. Of these, it can be noted Bitminter– an old stable pool with a good reputation, operating since 2011. Basically, it runs on old miners, and many also use it as a backup. It uses OpenID user authentication. The main accrual system is PPLNS with 1% commission. There is joint mining of Namecoin. The standard Stratum port 3333 is used, as well as 443 and 5050.

We don't work for the public

Several large pools, with a total capacity of about 25% of the total hashrate of the Bitcoin network, are inaccessible to ordinary miners. They work only for a narrow circle of investors.

Bitfury

The first of them, and the third in the overall ranking, is Bitfury is the only pool in the top five that is not located in China. He holds 15-17% network only at the expense of its own capacities – the connection is closed for “outside” miners. The pool belongs to a large equipment manufacturer, Bitfury, which mainly produces it for its own data centers located in Iceland and Georgia. In addition, Bitfury is one of the leaders in terms of the volume of investments received during the year, exceeding $60 million. All these funds are used for new developments, as well as the construction and support of data centers.

KnC pool

Pool KnCMiner belongs to the Swedish ASIC manufacturer of the same name. Most of its capacity is located in Europe. The operation of the pool is ensured by the company’s own equipment and its cloud mining service. Public access no to the pool. Average hashrate approx. 5% networks.

21 Inc

Another mysterious pool belongs to the company 21 Inc, which, according to rumors, was financed by large American venture capital funds and is located in Silicon Valley, with all that it implies. Now her pool owns about 4% networks. The company and the pool are not public; they work only for their investors.

Cryptocurrency is digital money that is stored in users’ online wallets. Cryptocurrency mining is the extraction of coins using a computer or other equipment.

You can do mining on your own or in a team of like-minded people. In the first case, you will need powerful and expensive equipment. However, even in this situation, mining is unprofitable, since the computer must work twenty-four hours a day. This means that all the money earned will be used to pay off debts for electricity. If we consider mining in a team, the so-called pools, then this is much more profitable. You don’t have to spend money on buying video cards and a processor; you just need to purchase a share in the cloud pool. You need to buy a share of the data center's capacity and wait for the revenue. All profits earned by the pool are divided among miners as a percentage of the purchased share.

The most famous pools for cloud mining

Previously, about two years ago, farms were used for mining - racks with video cards placed on them. Over time, the process of mining cryptocurrency became much more complicated, after which farms became less profitable. In their place came cloud pools.

The top pools of 2017 include:

• Hashing24.com is the most famous cloud mining pool for Bitcoin, which was formed on November 11, 2016. The average annual return is 75%;

• Eobot.com is one of best services for cloud mining. The pool was opened back in 2012, and now the average annual income fluctuates around 45%.

The list of cryptocurrencies that Eobot.com has includes

1. Bitcoin;
2. Litecoin;
3. Ethereum;
4. Steam;
5. Dogecoin;
6. Ripple;
7. Dash;
8. Redcoin;
9. bitshares;
10. Curecoin;
11. Monero;
12. ZcaSH;
13. Facrom;
14. Bytecoin;
15. Auqur;
16. Lisk;
17. MaidSafeCoin;
18. Gridcoin.

Eobot.com is, indeed, good service for mining. He has proven himself only on the positive side. The main advantage of this pool is the online chat, where beginners can ask any question to professionals. Users also note the convenience of the built-in wallet;

• The cloud pool HashFlare.io appeared on April 23, 2015.

Now the average annual profit on this service is approximately 130%. HashFlare.io is designed for mining the following cryptocurrencies:

• Zcash;
• Bitcoin;
• Ethereum.

The most powerful mining pools

By the end of 2017, the number of mining pools exceeded 1,500. Most users mine Bitcoin and Ethereum this way, since the difficulty level of mining these cryptocurrencies is too high. Mining alone on superpower personal computer will not bring tangible profits. It is for this reason that new pools are formed every week.

There are pools for mining other cryptocurrencies that are younger. They are much easier to mine, but these coins have no real value on the network.

We have compiled the top 5 powerful cryptocurrency mining pools:

• F2Pool is one of the most powerful pools, which was formed in 2013. The service was developed in China.

F2Pool allows you to mine the following cryptocurrencies:

1. Litecoin;
2. Bitcoin;
3. Dascoin;
4. Ethereum;
5. Ethereum classic;
6. Zcash;
7. Siacoin.

F2Pool has 1/5 of the hashrate of the entire network at its disposal. F2Pool is the only service where P2P payments are available. The administration advises withdrawing funds within 90 days, because then the money will be spent on the development of the pool.

• Another Chinese service, AntPool, holds 18% of the total network hashrate. On this service You can mine the following coins:

1. Bitcoin;
2. Litecoin;
3. Ethereum;
4. Zcash;
5. Dascoin;
6. Ethereum classic;
7. Bitcoin Cash.

For Russian-speaking users, AntPool is a priority service, since it has a Russian interface. Funds can be withdrawn in different ways, one of them is withdrawal without commissions.

• BTC China is not popular in the CIS, since the service does not have Russian, English is also in limited access. But the service has 10-12% of the hashrate of the entire network. The pool is focused only on bitcoin mining.

• BW pool is the last Chinese service on this list. Only Bitcoin is available for mining in this pool. The service holds 9% of the entire network. Funds are paid under the PPLNS scheme.
• Bitfury is a European pool developed by a company that sells computer equipment. The service controls 15 percent of the hashrate of the entire network. Without knowledge of English, it will be difficult to understand the interface, since the resource is not available in Russian. Bitfury is focused only on Bitcoin mining.

It should be noted that these five pools own more than 50% of the hashrate of the entire network. Other services have no more than 5% at their disposal. Their addition to this list is inappropriate. However, some of them need to be disassembled, since their characteristics are non-standard and interesting.

Other mining pools

• Mininggrirentals – English speaking service for mining bitcoin. The service has a user-friendly interface that every beginner can understand. Conclusion Money There are no restrictions; a large commission is imposed on withdrawals.

• Eligius is another foreign resource that is designed for Bitcoin mining. The service does not require registration. To enter the Personal Area, you just need to indicate your Bitcoin wallet number. Funds are withdrawn without commission. The pool has 4% of the hashrate of the entire network.
• Minergate is a Russian-language service for mining the following coins:

1. Bitcoin;
2. Bitcoin Gold;
3. Zcash;
4. Monero;
5. Bytecoin;
6. Ethereum classic;
7. Ethereum.

To mine cryptocurrency, you need to download the program from the official website of the pool and configure the system. Funds are available for withdrawal immediately. The service takes a small commission.

• Slush is the first pool in the world, which was formed seven years ago. Here you can mine Bitcoin and Namecoin. A year ago, the resource was introduced to support Zcash. The service has its own system for withdrawing funds, the commission is 2%.
• Mining pool hub is a service that was formed quite recently. The pool is perfect for both beginners and professionals. The resource has the following coins:
• adzcoin;
• Auroracoin;
• Bitcoin;
• Bitcoin Cash;
• Bitcoin-Gold;
• Dash;
• Digibyte
• Digibyte;
• Digibyte;
• Ethereum;
• Ethereum-Classic;
• Expanse;
• Feathercoin;
• Gamecredits;
• Geocoin;
• Globalboosty;
• Groestlcoin;
• Litecoin;
• Maxcoin;
• Monacoin;
• Monero;
• Musicoin;
• Myriadcoin;
• Myriadcoin;
• Myriadcoin;
• Sexcoin;
• Siacoin;
• Startcoin;
• Verge;
• Vertcoin;
• Zcash;
• Zclassic;
• Zcoin;
• Zencash.

• Ghash.io is a service that used to be one of the most powerful pools. Now it has only 2-3% of the hashrate of the entire network. This pool was formed in 2013. The service has a convenient exchanger, as well as its own system for withdrawing funds. You can mine the following coins using Ghash.io

1. Bitcoin;
2. Auroracoin;
3. Dogecoin;
4. Fizercoin.

Ethereum Mining Pools

Ethereum is a second generation cryptocurrency. Many analysts claim that this coin will overtake its main rival, Bitcoin, in popularity and value. To mine this cryptocurrency, there are pools that are focused only on it. Services include:

• Ethpool.org is the world's first Ethereum mining pool. This pool is limited and new users cannot enter. Ethpool.org owns more than 20% of the power of the entire network.
• ETH Nanopool was formed quite recently. Now the service is actively developing, a large number of users join the pool every day. The power percentage of the entire network is about 2%.
• EthereumPool managed to establish itself on the market with positive side. The service opened in 2015. The developers of EthereumPool have established a fixed commission for withdrawal of funds in the amount of 2%. The service has a capacity of 2%.

How to choose a pool

When choosing a mining pool, you need to approach it with a fresh mind. After all, the profit of your investment depends on it. Before choosing a particular service, you need to study in detail a large amount of information on the Internet, as well as reviews from other users. You should not choose those cryptocurrency mining pools that were created recently.

Below are a few tips, following which you will not go wrong when choosing a service for mining cryptocurrencies:

• First of all, evaluate the characteristics of your personal computer, and also check whether they are suitable for cryptocurrency mining. It is worth noting that mining pools are based on the power of video cards. If your device was released several years ago, then in this case it is not worth investing. Since the profit will be negligible.
• It is necessary to pay attention to possible ways withdrawal of funds. For example, some services charge a withdrawal fee; it differs in each pool.
• It is necessary to take into account such a factor as revenue distribution. The best option– this is the distribution of revenue equally between all participants, because in this case the power characteristics of your PC are unimportant. Unfortunately, there are few such pools. Mostly there are services that distribute revenue between miners in proportion to their investments. Each service has a different payment system, so study this factor before joining.
• If you live in places where electricity is expensive, or mining requires an expensive video card, then in this case it is better to refuse mining. Since cryptocurrency mining will not bring proper profit. To pay less for electricity, mine coins at night when electricity discounts are available.

• When choosing a mining service, you also need to pay attention to the frequency of payments. This characteristic, first of all, depends on the rules of the exchange, if the withdrawal is made to it. For example, the minimum withdrawal allowed on Polonix is ​​1 Ethereum. Therefore, it is worth thinking about withdrawing funds to your wallet.

Thus, mining in a team of like-minded people is easier and more cost-effective. If you follow the above instructions, making a profit from this business will not be difficult.

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A pool is a platform with specialized software where miners combine the computing power of their equipment for more efficient mining of a certain cryptocurrency. Mining pools have different systems for calculating rewards, but the most used are only three (PROP, PPLNS, PPS). The most popular pools in 2019-2020 are Poolin, F2Pool, BTC.com, AntPool, ViaBTC.

At the beginning of 2009, after the launch of the Bitcoin project, he invited everyone to try it out new technology- . The conditions were very simple - the user had to have only three things: a computer, the Internet and a client program installed on the computer.

However, over time, the requirements have changed, and now Bitcoin cannot be simply mined alone, not only on a personal computer, but even on a special device. Solo mining of Bitcoin has become unprofitable and even unprofitable, because the chance of finding the coveted nonce in this case is zero.

The reason for the collapse of solo mining of the most popular cryptocurrency was the emergence of mining pools. In this article we will focus on centralized pools, since this type is the most common at this time. Bitcoin mining pools will also be mainly discussed.

This is an association of miners for the extraction of cryptocurrency, while the power of each participant’s devices makes up the total hashrate (computing power) of the pool. This scheme of work gives a much greater chance of closing a block and receiving a reward, which is distributed among participants according to the system adopted by the operator of a particular mining pool.

It is worth noting that on this moment There are pools for mining coins operating according to the algorithm, Proof-of-Stake (PoS) or a hybrid scheme Proof-of-Work + Proof-of-Stake.

A mining pool can be compared to a lottery pool. Your chances of winning a popular lottery are very low, but when you team up with a lot of other people and agree to split your winnings if you're successful, the odds increase as a multiple of the number of participants. But at the same time, the amount of winnings for each participant is much lower.

The first pool appeared at the end of autumn 2010. It was called “Slush Pool” and was founded at that time by an ordinary programmer, and currently the CEO of the famous crypto wallet company Trezor, Marek Palatinus.

In 2010, the Slush Pool hashrate was 10 GH/s. Now the computing power of the pool, according to the official website, is more than 5 EH/s. Over the entire period of its existence, this mining pool has mined more than 1 million BTC.

It’s even better to find out what mining pools are by watching the video:

What are mining pools

How to join the pool and start mining

Joining a mining pool is very simple:

1. Step 1. Select a suitable mining pool.
2. Step 2. Register through the registration form on the pool website.
3. Step 3. Download the client program on the mining pool website - it will help manage the mining process.
4. Step 4. Connect and configure your equipment (instructions can be easily found on the Internet).
5. Step 5. Now you are completely ready to mine!

Below all the stages will be described in more detail.

Main types

Mining pools are different and may differ from each other according to a number of criteria:

• The presence of a centralized server or its absence;
• Type of mined;
• The presence or absence of a commission for withdrawing earned funds;
• Requirements imposed by the mining pool on the computing power of participants to connect to the general mining process;
• Method of payment of remuneration.

Centralized and decentralized pools

Most mining pools today are centralized. Centralized pools are a server whose operation is coordinated by an operator.

Each of the participants puts their computing power at the disposal of the pool, which, combining them, works to find the nonce value in order to close the block and receive a reward. If successful, the operator divides the profit between all participants according to one of the schemes, which will be described below.

In this system, the whole pool, and not an individual participant, is perceived by the blockchain as a separate node (node).

A huge disadvantage of centralized mining pools is their greater vulnerability to DDoS attacks. For example, in July 2017, one of the largest Chinese Bitcoin pools, F2Pool, was attacked by hackers.

In addition, with the existence of huge pools (for example, BTC.com or Antpool, which are actually a project of the Chinese ASIC miner giant), the risk of a 51% attack increases, which was described in detail in a paper by Satoshi Nakamoto. Now the share of BTC.com is a little more than 16% of the total hashrate of the Bitcoin network and this pool does not yet threaten the security of the network, however, the history of mining already knows the case of a very likely 51% attack from one Bitcoin pool.

In 2014, the most popular pool at that time, Ghash.io, came close to a critical indicator, and according to some online news portals, on June 13, 2014, it even controlled 51% of all capacities within a few hours. Miners sounded the alarm and began to suspend mining en masse and leave the pool. Fortunately for the Bitcoin community, Ghash.io stated that it has no plans to take over the Bitcoin network and has stopped accepting new miners to stabilize the situation. At the moment, only a cryptocurrency exchanger operates at ghash.io.

There are also other examples: DeepBit, which controlled 49% of the hashrate in 2011, and BTC Guild with 40%. In all cases, the situation was resolved without the use of any force majeure measures.

Decentralized mining pools have emerged as a counterweight to centralized ones. The main advantage of such associations is that they follow the main principle of blockchain - decentralization. In this system, independent miners simply band together to increase the chances of finding a block. Each miner is a separate node participating in the mining process.

Among the decentralized mining pools it is worth mentioning the following: P2Pool, BitPenny, Eligius.

Below is a comparative table of centralized and decentralized mining pools:

Merge mining

Some pools allow the possibility of merge mining, or simultaneous mining of several cryptocurrencies at once. They work according to the following principle: in the process of selecting a random nonce number, which is necessary to close a Bitcoin block, mining devices generate billions of these numbers. Those nonce that are not useful for signing a block in the Bitcoin network are used to sign blocks of other cryptocurrencies, mainly, for example, Namecoin, Devcoin, IxCoin, I0Coin.

Reusing non-Bitcoin nonces gives miners an additional profit of 1-2% of their total earnings.

However, not all pools provide this option, so when choosing a service you should pay attention to this parameter. For example, such an option is available on Antpool, BTC.com, .

Multi-coin pools and multipools

Multi-coin pools are services where you can mine cryptocurrency that is profitable at a certain moment. These should be coins with the same value, for example, Bitcoin and its forks, which are based on the SHA256 algorithm. In this case, the mined funds go to one account, from which the miner manually or automatically distributes the currencies to their wallets.

It is worth noting that the miner makes all switches between currencies manually, so it is very important to have up-to-date data on the price and popularity of a particular cryptocurrency.

To switch, you just need to select the desired TCP port in the mining equipment software settings.

Multi-coin pools have been replaced by multipools. They differ from multi-coin ones only in that all switching occurs automatically - the pool itself selects the most profitable coin for mining at a certain moment, taking into account such indicators as the price and popularity of the cryptocurrency on the exchange, network complexity and many other factors. The most popular multipools for Bitcoin mining: NiceHash, Zpool, Multipool.

How the pool works

It was already said above that the mining pool distributes the reward obtained by common efforts among nodes in proportion to their contribution. In mining language, the contribution is called a “share” (from the English share - share). To explain briefly, the balls are “failed blocks”, i.e. attempts to find a valid block made by the miner. For these attempts, the miner receives a reward. The role of the mining pool operator is precisely that he checks the validity of the blocks (i.e. nonce number + block hash) provided to him by the participants.

After one of the participants finds a valid block, the pool compares it with the current difficulty of the entire network and sends it for verification to shared network, where it confirms with other nodes. After receiving confirmation, the mining pool counts the contribution (share) of each participant and distributes the reward taking into account its commissions.

How is the reward distributed among pool participants?

There are several systems for distributing rewards between mining pool participants. There are 13 generally accepted schemes, but most often only two of them are used. We will describe three systems to explain their application more simply.

PROP (Proportional)

It is a proportional model, according to the rules of which each participant receives a reward in proportion to the number of shares sent. As soon as a block is found, the account is reset to zero, and the process of crediting the share begins from the beginning.

Very simple calculation.

Instability of payments - if a miner joined during a period when a block was found quickly, he will receive much more than when he connects to mining when participants are looking for the nonce of a block for a sufficiently long period of time;

Losses from pool-hopping (pool-hopping) - a method of “cheating” in , which implies that a participant “buys” from pool to pool in order to participate in the production of “short blocks”, while he shifts the production of “long blocks” to honest ones pool participants. In this case, the payment is higher than with systematic constant mining in one pool. This is especially harmful to small mining pools;

Typically, the pool sets high commissions in order to minimize its losses from the random factor.

Today, mining pools practically do not work with the PROP system due to the “invasion” of the already mentioned pool hoppers.

There are several small cryptocurrency mining pools that operate using the PROP system: Coinmine, Mining.Sk, SoyMinero, Aurora_Pool and others.

PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares)

PPLNS is also a proportional payment system, but it works according to a slightly more complex algorithm than the previous one. Payment is not calculated for the number of balls that the user sent for the interval between two found blocks, but for the number of time intervals, which are called shifts (from English shift - shift) and are fixed.

Each pool chooses the number and duration of shifts at its own discretion. For example, a pool may have a rule of 20 shifts, each of which lasts 2 hours.

The key thing in this system is how many hours the miner has worked.

If the rules that we described above apply in the pool, then after two hours the miner will receive 10% of the amount that he would have received with PROP, 20% after four hours, etc., i.e. He will receive 100% only after 20 hours of work. Moreover, if a miner leaves the pool and then returns, his earnings account is not reset to zero, but continues from the value at which the miner left the pool.

For example, if the miner left after 4 hours 45 minutes of work, then the next session will start not from scratch, but from 4 hours 46 minutes and the miner will reach 30% after 1 hour 15 minutes of work.

Ideal for miners who constantly work in only one pool;

Stable payments;

Less influence of the randomness factor, which ensures more stable operation of the pool;

Very low and even zero commissions, since the pool actually does not bear any risks and pays participants only what was actually mined.

Not suitable for miners who work with multiple pools simultaneously.

The PPLNS payment system is used today by most large pools, for example, Antpool, SlushPool and others.

PPS (Pay Per Share)

PPS is a system that involves a fixed payment for each share provided by the user. It is calculated using the following formula:

1. B - block reward;
2. H - current network complexity;
3. N is the number of balls with difficulty 1 sent by the user.

All work done by the user is paid, regardless of whether valid blocks were found or not.

High risks for the pool;

Quite high commissions have been established (3-7%) in order to minimize the risks of the pool.

The PPS payment scheme is present on such pools as ViaBTC, BTCC Pool, .

Rating of mining pools

To decide on the choice of a mining pool, it would be useful to know their rating depending on the distribution of network hashing power. There is an opinion that the share of a pool in mining reflects the trust of users in it. In order to understand which services are the most popular today, consider their rating:

It should be noted that over the past six months the structure of the rating has changed significantly.

Now the top three consists of an unknown pool, Poolin and F2Pool.

Thus, the largest hashrate of 22.9% of the entire network is processed by an unknown pool. In second place is the little-known, but trusted by miners, mining pool Poolin with 18.5% hashrate, which, in fact, “pushed” F2Pool to third place.

We will consider the pools that shared 99.9% of the network hashrate among themselves below.

Unknown pool

This is a miner or group that does not want to reveal their data. In fact, mining can be carried out by a pool known to all of us, but for some reason wishing to remain unidentified. Therefore, one can only guess who is behind the leading miner of the Bitcoin network.

Poolin

A relatively young pool, operating since 2017. The service attracted the attention of the audience thanks to its convenient and multifunctional interface.

As for Bitcoin, the commission for a mined block is 4%, the minimum payout threshold is 0.005 BTC, and the reward calculation method is FPPS.

F2Pool

It has been operating since 2013 and has a good reputation in the crypto space. There are a dozen coins available for mining. In turn, the commission for mining a BTC block is 2.5%, with a minimum payout threshold of 0.005 BTC and the reward calculation method is PPS+.

Perhaps this is due to the decline in its popularity among miners.

ViaBTC

Chinese mining pool operating on the market since 2016. Today the hashrate is a little over 5%. Supports PPS+, PPLNS, SOLO with a minimum payout of 0.001 BTC. Mining commission is 1%.

SlushPool

A pioneer pool in the mining sector. It was launched back in 2010 by Satoshi Labs. Unlike most services, it has a Russian-language interface.

Commissions on the platform are 2%, while payments are made based on the SCORE system, the operating principle of which can be found on the pool website. The minimum amount available for withdrawal is 0.001 BTC.

BTC.TOP

Mining pool founded in 2016 by Chinese investor Zhian Zhuer. The pool was created for the investor’s personal purposes, and therefore access to it is limited. Is one of the most mysterious Chinese pools.

BitFury

It was created in 2011 by the company of the same name Bitfury Group Limited. Like BTC.TOP, it does not provide joint mining services, but produces cryptocurrency only using its own computing power. Unlike most services, it is located outside of China.

Bitcoin.com

American pool for mining Bitcoin and . The service uses the PPS and PPLNS reward system, and there is no commission for mined blocks.

The minimum withdrawal amount can be either 0.0005 BTC or 0.005 BTC, depending on the withdrawal method (automated and manual, respectively).

How to choose a mining pool

When choosing a pool for Bitcoin mining, you should consider several very important nuances:

• Power - older and proven pools have more power, which ensures blocks are closed more frequently and, as a result, higher profits. However, leading pools, as a rule, set high requirements for the equipment of participants;
• Remuneration payment system - there are only two remuneration schemes used today - PPLNS and PPS. The PROP system has been discredited by pool hoppers, and serious sites no longer use it. PPS is considered the most fair, but the miner receives the most stable payments from the pool that works with PPLNS;
• Commissions - pools have two types of commissions: for mining itself (completely depends on the chosen payment system) and for withdrawal of funds. Typically, the lowest mining fees are for pools that work with PPLNS, since in this case they are maximally protected from risks. On such sites, the commission is usually 0.5-1% or not charged at all. With PPS, commissions can sometimes reach 4-7%, because with such a system the mining pool is obliged to pay the miners for all the work actually done. Some pools set hidden fees, so you need to be very careful and carefully study the conditions for joining the pool;
• Method of withdrawal of funds - mining pools offer a variety of ways to withdraw earned cryptocurrency - from crypto wallets to withdrawal to cards and systems electronic money straight to fiat;
• Equipment - if you have already purchased equipment, then you need to select a pool based on the type and characteristics of your mining equipment. If you are just going to start mining, we recommend that you first select a pool, and only then buy the necessary equipment in accordance with the requirements of the pool. Let us remind you that Bitcoin can be mined exclusively on ASIC - and the central main cryptocurrencies will not work;
• Reputation - before joining a pool, it is very advisable to study user reviews about it. Read the reviews not on the pool website itself (since, naturally, there will only be positive reviews), but on third-party thematic resources, for example, on bitcointalk.org.

If you decide to start mining Bitcoin, then you cannot do without joining a popular mining pool - solo mining has not brought any results for a long time and in this case you would waste a lot of time and money on paying electricity bills. Success depends very much on the pool and equipment you choose, so you should weigh everything carefully before making your final decision.