What is the cryptocurrency mining pool and how to join it?

Definition of the mining pool

With the increase in the difficulty of cryptocurrency mining, its market competition has become increasingly fierce. It is difficult for a single miner to obtain block rewards through independent mining. Therefore, the mining pool emerged.

Slush Pool is the first publicly available Bitcoin mining pool, which opened up a new model of pool mining. The mining pool is a platform that gathers the hash rates of many miners through the network to jointly participate in the mine. When the hash rates in the pool successfully mine a block, it will distribute rewards according to the proportion of the hash rate contributed by each miner. In this way, even if the hash rate of a single miner is limited, they can also obtain relatively stable income by joining a pool. And the mining pool increases the hash rates through the participation of a large number of miners, increasing the chance of obtaining block rewards.

Operating principle of the mining pool

The pool connects a large number of mining rigs through a dedicated protocol, which can gather their hash rates to increase the possibility of mining a new block. It will divide the block difficulty task into lots of lower-difficulty tasks, and subsequently distribute them to each miner. After receiving the task, the miner uses his mining rigs to calculate: when an answer that meets the conditions (that is a workload - share) is found, he will submit the result to the pool. After being verified, the pool will receive and count the quantity. When a block is successfully mined and added to the blockchain public ledger, the pool will receive block rewards and other benefits: it will first deduct relevant fees from the obtained block reward, then the remaining part will be distributed to each miner according to contribution value with a specific settlement method (such as PPS+, FPPS, etc.).

Advantages of joining a mining pool

1. Improve mining success rate and reduce the risk

Joining a pool can share hash rate resources to increase the successful probability. At the same time, the mining pool adopts different settlement methods, so that even miners with a small hash rate can obtain relatively stable income.

2. Provide professional services

The mining pool can provide professional services such as real-time monitoring and hash rate management. Miners only need to be responsible for hash calculation, which enables them even novices to focus on mining.

Considering factors when choosing a mining pool

1. The overall hash rate of the pool

Choosing a mining pool with a high hash rate can improve the possibility of earning profit. Especially for miners or mining farms that need to maintain operating costs, a higher hash rate means more opportunities to obtain block rewards within a unit of time.

2. Luck value of the mining pool

The data refers to the luck of the mining pool, that is, the ratio of actual block rewards to expected (luck value = actual output quantity / theoretical block quantity * 100%). Users who choose PPLNS or PPS+ settlement mode need to consider the value.

3. Stability of the pool

A stable pool is the key to ensuring that the miner's hash rate will continuously and effectively invest in mining. If a pool frequently experiences problems such as failures and disconnections, it will lead to waste of the miner's hash rate and affect income. When choosing a mining pool, its stability can be evaluated through its operation records and the evaluations of other miners.

4. Handling fee

Different pools will charge different proportions of handling fees. The lower the fee, the higher the income obtained by miners. When comparing this factor, other factors of the mining pool also need to be considered. A mining pool with unstable or poor service quality should not be selected just because of the low fee.

5. Settlement method of mining pool

When choosing a pool, miners should select an appropriate settlement method according to their risk preference and expected income.

6. Supported types of cryptocurrencies

For miners who want to mine multiple cryptocurrencies, choosing a pool that supports the mining of multiple currencies will be more convenient.

7. Service quality

Selecting a mining pool with high-quality service can enable miners to focus on mining. Importantly, a friendly user interface and an easy-to-operate mining pool can also improve mining efficiency. In addition, some mining pools provide functions such as real-time hash rate monitoring and income reports, which are convenient for miners to understand their own mining situation.

How to join a mining pool?

The application steps for each mining pool are basically consistent. Here, we will introduce the specific process of joining the mining pool by taking the Antpool Pool as an example.

1. Register and establish a miner account. After selecting a suitable mining pool, miners need to register and establish their own accounts on the corresponding platform. After registration is completed, miners will obtain a unique miner number to identify themselves in the pool.

2. Set up wallet address and settlement method. In order to obtain mining rewards, the wallet address must be set and the corresponding settlement method must be selected in the account settings of the mining pool. Note: the mining pool usually sets a minimum payment amount. If the daily income does not reach the amount, it will be retained in the account until it is greater than the minimum payment amount. The obtained income of the miners will be entered into the corresponding wallet address.

3. Configuration and connect mining machines. After registration on the pool platform, miners need to configure and connect their own miners. Run the machine, ensuring it is connected to the Internet. Enter the IP address to enter its management interface, then enter the pool address, port, miner name, and password. Finally, save the settings and restart the miner.

4. Mine and obtain rewards. When the miner is correctly connected to the mining pool, it can begin mining. The mining software will automatically obtain the tasks assigned by the pool and send the calculation results to it. After deducting a certain proportion of handling fees as operating costs, the pool will distribute the remaining rewards according to the miners’ contributed hash rate.

In conclusion, in the field of cryptocurrency mining, the existence of mining pools provides miners with a more stable income path and a more efficient mining method. When choosing a mining pool, miners should comprehensively consider various factors to find the most suitable mining pool for themselves to maximize income.

Disclaimer:

The information provided in this article is for reference only. Investors should exercise caution and seek advice from professionals before joining a mining pool. This website is not responsible for the actions taken by readers based on the information in this article.