Comparison of mining pools: Difference between revisions

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Reward types & explanation:
Reward types & explanation:
* '''PPS''' - Pay Per Share. Each submitted share is worth certain amount of BTC. Since finding a block requires <current difficulty> shares ''on average'', a PPS method with 0% fee would be 50 BTC divided by <current difficulty>. It is risky for pool operators, hence the fee is highest.
* '''CPPSRB''' - Capped Pay Per Share with Recent Backpay. [http://eligius.st/wiki/index.php/Capped_PPS_with_Recent_Backpay]
* '''Prop.''' - Proportional. When block is found, the reward is distributed among all workers proportionally to how much shares each of them has found. This method is vulnerable to ''pool swapping'' cheat, where a worker would swap to another pool, if this one didn't find a block quickly. Then he would have extra profit on fast rounds, and normal profit on long rounds (because he would be mining on another pool by then). To mitigate this problem pools must introduce extra fees, and hide statistics, so that it is unknown when a block is found.
* '''DGM''' - Double Geometric Method.  A hybrid between PPLNS and Geometric reward types that enables to operator to absorb some of the variance risk.  Operator receives portion of payout on short rounds and returns it on longer rounds to normalize payments. [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=39497.0]
* '''Score''' - Score based system, the most advanced one. It is a proportional reward, but it is impossible to cheat as described above. Each submitted share is worth more in the function of time ''t'' since start of current round. For each share score is updated by: score += exp(t/C). This makes later shares worth more than earlier shares, thus swapping away to another pool on longer rounds makes the cheater's score to quickly diminish. Rewards are calculated proportionally to scores (and not to shares). Statistics can be shown "live" without fear. The score based method is perfect for 24/7 miners. (at slush's pool C=300 seconds, and every hour scores are normalized)
* '''ESMPPS''' - Equalized Shared Maximum Pay Per Share. Like SMPPS, but equalizes payments fairly among all those who are owed. [http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=12181.msg378851#msg378851]
* '''POT''' - Pay On Target. A high variance PPS variant that pays on the difficulty of work returned to pool rather than the difficulty of work served by pool [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=131376.0]
* '''PPLNS''' - Pay Per Last N Shares. Similar to proportional, but instead of looking at the number of shares in the round, instead looks at the last N shares, regardless of round boundaries.
* '''PPLNSG''' - Pay Per Last N Groups (or shifts). Similar to PPLNS, but shares are grouped into "shifts" which are paid as a whole.
* '''PPS''' - Pay Per Share. Each submitted share is worth certain amount of BTC. Since finding a block requires <current difficulty> shares ''on average'', a PPS method with 0% fee would be 6.25 BTC divided by <current difficulty>. It is risky for pool operators, hence the fee is highest.
* '''Prop.''' - Proportional. When block is found, the reward is distributed among all workers proportionally to how much shares each of them has found.
* '''RSMPPS''' - Recent Shared Maximum Pay Per Share. Like SMPPS, but system aims to prioritize the most recent miners first. [http://eligius.st/wiki/index.php/Shared_Maximum_PPS]
* '''Score''' - Score based system: a proportional reward, but weighed by time submitted. Each submitted share is worth more in the function of time ''t'' since start of current round. For each share score is updated by: score += exp(t/C). This makes later shares worth much more than earlier shares, thus the miner's score quickly diminishes when they stop mining on the pool. Rewards are calculated proportionally to scores (and not to shares). (at slush's pool C=300 seconds, and every hour scores are normalized)
* '''SMPPS''' - Shared Maximum Pay Per Share. Like Pay Per Share, but never pays more than the pool earns. [http://eligius.st/wiki/index.php/Shared_Maximum_PPS]
* '''FPPS''' - Full Pay Per Share. Similar to PPS，but not only divide regular block reward (6.25 BTC for now) but also some of the transaction fees.  Calculate a standard transaction fee within a certain period and distribute it to miners according to their hash power contributions in the pool. It will increase the miners' earnings by sharing some of the transaction fees.
* '''TIDES''' - Transparent Index of Distinct Extended Shares. As blocks are being mined, they generate the reward by a weighted percentage of effort to the most recently found proofs. The proof period funds are distributed across has been chosen such that each proof should be paid on average 8 times. Instead of a set amount of bitcoins per proof, the block reward is divided by percent, so transaction fees are included.


{| class="wikitable sortable"
A statistically valid analysis of some pools and their payout methods: [http://organofcorti.blogspot.com/ Bitcoin network and pool analysis]
 
== Operational Pools ==
 
The following mining pools are still running and paying out their users:
 
{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1"
|-
! Name                !! Location            !! Size<ref name="hashrate2"/>
!                                                        Merged Mining<ref name="merged"/>
!                                                                    Reward Type            !! Transaction fees!!PPS Fee!!Other Fee!! [[File:Stm.png|link=Stratum_mining_protocol]] !! [[getblocktemplate|GBT]]
! Launched  !! Variance                    !! Forum                                      !! Website
|-
| [[AntPool]]        || China                || Large || No      || PPLNS & PPS            || {{PoolFees}}    || 2.5%  || 0%      || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| ?          || ?                            || [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=855548 link]  || [https://www.antpool.com/ link]
|-
| [[BTC.com]]        || {{flag|cn}}{{flag|us|}}{{flag|eu}}              || Medium || [[NMC]]      || FPPS          || {{SharedFees}}    || 0%  || 4%      || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| 2016-09-13          ||      User                    || [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1827718.0 link]  || [https://pool.btc.com/ link]
|-
| [[DEMAND]]        || Global || Small || No  || SOLO                  || {{SharedFees}}  ||    ||    0%    || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| 2023-11-27 ||  || [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5476679.0 link] || [http://DMND.WORK link]
|-
| [[F2Pool]]          || {{flag|us|}}{{flag|eu|}}{{flag|cn|}}                || Large || NMC, SYS, EMC || PPS+                    || {{SharedFees}}    || 2.5%    ||    0%    || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| 2013-05-05 || Dynamic              || [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=700411.0 link] || [https://www.f2pool.com link]
|-
| [[Golden Nonce Pool]]        || {{flag|us}}{{flag|eu}}|| Small || No      || DGM                || {{PoolFees}}    ||      ||      0% || {{Yes}} ||
| 2018-03-27 || Dynamic || [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3208073;all  link]  || [https://goldennoncepool.com link]
|-
|-
! Name !! Location !! Hashrate (GHash/sec)<ref name="hashrate">Hashrate is given in gigahash/second.</ref><ref name="hashrate2">Note that pool hashrate is largely irrelevant but can be seen as a popularity measurement. Note however that it is a theoretical security issue if one pool gains above 50% of the total computational power of the network, thus consider joining a pool based on other metrics.</ref> !! Reward Type !! Transaction fees !! Fee PPS !! Fee Prop / Score !! Audits<ref name="auditing">Auditing can be accomplished by third-parties if the pool publishes proofs-of-work for every share.</ref> !! Protocol !! Launched !! Forum Thread !! Homepage
| [[KanoPool]]        || {{flag|us}}{{flag|sg}}{{flag|de}}{{flag|jp}}{{flag|nl}} || Medium || No      || PPLNSG                || {{SharedFees}}    ||      ||      0.9% || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| 2014-09-20 || User<ref name="changeable"/>/Dynamic 18SPM || [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=789369.0 link]  || [http://www.kano.is link]
|-
|-
| [[Bitclockers|BitClockers]] || Unknown || 75 || Prop. || kept by pool || - || 2% || ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-05-27 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=10127.0 Link] || [http://bitclockers.com/ Link]
| [[P2Pool]]         || Global (p2p)          ||   Small || Merged mining can be done on a "solo mining" basis <ref name="solomm"/> || PPLNS  || {{SharedFees}}  ||     ||     | 0% || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| 2011-06-17 || User<ref name="changeable"/> || [http://bitcointalk.org/?topic=18313  link] ||
|-
|-
| [[Bitcoin_Pool|Bitcoin Mining Pool]] || USA || 255 || Prop. || kept by pool || - || 0%<ref name="donations">Donations are possible</ref> || ? || RPC (+LP) || Unknown || [http://bitcoinpool.com/forum/ Link] || [http://www.bitcoinpool.com/ Link]
|-
|-
| [[Bitcoin_Pooled_Mining|Bitcoin Pooled Mining (Slush)]] || London || 1491 || Score || kept by pool || - || 2% || ? || RPC || 2010-11-27 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=1976.0 Link] || [http://mining.bitcoin.cz/ Link]
| [[Poolin]]         || Global                ||   Medium ||[[NMC]] VCASH || FPPS  || {{SharedFees}}  ||   2.5% ||     0% || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}}
| 2017-10-01 || Dynamic || [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5169994.0 link] || [https://poolin.com/ link]
|-
|-
| [[Bitcoins.lc]] || EU || 300 || Prop. || kept by pool || - || 0% || ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-05-27 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=10121.0 Link] || [http://www.bitcoins.lc/ Link]
| [[SBICrypto Pool]]         || Global                ||   Medium || No      || FPPS  || {{SharedFees}}  ||   0% ||     0% || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}}
| 2020-11-03 || User<ref name="changeable"/>/Dynamic ||                                            || [https://sbicrypto.com/ link]
|-
|-
| [[BitLotto Pool]] || Los Angeles || 1 || Prop || kept by pool || - || - || ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-06-08 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=13794.0 Link] || [http://www.bitlottopool.com/ Link]
| [[Slush Pool]]
|                       Global              || Medium || [[NMC]] || Score                  || {{SharedFees}}  ||     ||     2% || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| 2010-11-27 || User<ref name="changeable"/> || [http://bitcointalk.org/?topic=1976  link] || [https://slushpool.com/ link]
|-
|-
| [[BTC Guild]] || USA, EU || 1389 || Prop. || kept by pool || - || 0%<ref name="donationsf">Donations are possible to unlock features</ref>|| ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-05-09 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=7760.0 Link] || [http://www.btcguild.com/ Link]
| [[Luxor]]       || {{flag|us|label=1}}||    Medium || No || FPPS & PPS                    || {{SharedFees}} || 2% ||     0% || {{Yes}} ||
| 2018-01-01 || VarDiff                      ||                                             || [https://mining.luxor.tech// link]
|-
|-
| [[BTCMine]] || UK || 605 || Score || kept by pool || - || 2% || ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-03-11 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=4251.0 Link] || [http://www.btcmine.com/ Link]
| [[OCEAN]]         || {{flag|us|label=1}}|| Small || No  || TIDES                  || {{SharedFees}}  ||    ||     0%   || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| 2011-04-27 || Dynamic  || || [http://ocean.xyz link]
|-
|-
| [[Continuum]] || Canada || 7 || PPS / Score || kept by pool || 5% || 0% || ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-05-17 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=8660.0 Link] || [http://www.continuumpool.com/ Link]
|}
 
== Defunct Pools ==
 
The following pools were once operational but have since shut down. They are listed for historical purposes only.
 
{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1"
|-
|-
| [[DeepBit]] || Germany || 2661 || PPS / Prop. || kept by pool || 10% || 3% || ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-02-26 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=3889.0 Link] || [http://deepbit.net/ Link]
! Name                !! Location            !! Size<ref name="hashrate2"/>
!                                                        Merged Mining<ref name="merged"/>
!                                                                    Reward Type            !! Transaction fees!!PPS Fee!!Other Fee!! [[File:Stm.png|link=Stratum_mining_protocol]] !! [[getblocktemplate|GBT]]
! Launched  !! Variance                    !! Forum                                      !! Website
|-
|-
| [[Eclipse]] || USA / Europe / AU / Asia || 25 || Prop / Score || kept by pool || 0% || 0% || ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-06-14 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=16385.0 Link] || [https://eclipsemc.com Link]
| [[BCMonster.com]]       ||{{flag|us|}}{{flag|eu}}{{flag|cn|}} || Small || No      || PPLNS                  || {{SharedFees}}  ||       ||     0.5% || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| 2016-01-13 ||   Dynamic ||  [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1327077.0 link]                               || [http://www.bcmonster.com link]
|-
|-
| [[Eligius]] || USA / Europe || 334 || MaxPPS / Prop. || kept by pool || ~0.0003%<ref name="donations">Donations are possible</ref> || ~0.0003%<ref name="donations">Donations are possible</ref> || Yes<ref name="auditnote">Access to Eligius proofs-of-work is available on request.</ref> || RPC (+LP) || 2011-04-27 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=6667.0 Link] || [http://eligius.st Link]
| [[BitcoinAffiliateNetwork]]     || {{flag|us|}}{{flag|eu}}{{flag|cn|}}{{flag|nl|}}{{flag|au|}}      ||  ?  || [[NMC]] || ?        || {{PoolFees}}    ||   ? ||   ?    ||   {{Yes}}    ||
| 2014-07-15 || User/Dynamic          || [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=722202.0 link] || [http://mining.bitcoinaffiliatenetwork.com/ link]
|-
|-
| [[Mining Team Reddit]] || USA, EU || 125 || Prop || kept by pool || - || 0%<ref name="donations">Donations are possible</ref> || ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-05-25 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=15929.0 Link] || [http://www.mtred.com/ Link]
| [[BitMinter]]       || {{flag|us}}{{flag|ca|label=1}}{{flag|eu}}          || Small || [[NMC]] || PPLNSG                  || {{SharedFees}}  ||      ||      1% || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| 2011-06-26 || User<ref name="changeable"/>/Dynamic || [https://bitcointalk.org/?topic=788753  link] || [https://bitminter.com link]
|-
|-
| [[Ozco.in]] || AUS || 25 || Prop || Kept in Pool || 0% || 0% || ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-06-08 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=14085.0/ Link] || [http://www.ozco.in Link]
| [[BTCDig]]         || {{flag|us|label=1}}||   Small || No      || DGM                  || {{PoolFees}}    ||      ||     0% || {{Yes}}    ||
| 2013-07-04 || User<ref name="changeable"/>/Dynamic 20SPM                      || [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=249627  link] || [http://btcdig.com/ link]
|-
|-
| [[Simplecoin]] || Unknown || 0 || Prop|| kept by pool || - || 0% || ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-06-02 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=11186.0 Link] || [http://simplecoin.us/ Link]
| [[btcmp.com]]       || {{flag|de|label=1}}||   Small || No      || PPS                    || {{PoolFees}}    ||   4% || || {{Yes}} ||
| 2011-06-28 || Diff 1                      ||                                            || [http://www.btcmp.com/ link]
|-
|-
| [[Swepool]] || Sweden || 51 || Prop || kept by pool || - || - || ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-05-14 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=8288.0 Link] || [http://swepool.net/ Link]
| [[BTCC Pool]]           || China, Japan      || Large    || [[NMC]]      || PPS                      || {{PoolFees}}    || 2.0%    || 0%      || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}}
| 2014-10-21          ||  Dynamic                            || ?                                     || [https://pool.btcc.com link]
|-
|-
| [[x8s]] || Germany || 4 || Prop || kept by pool || - || - || ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-06-08 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=13275 Link] || [http://btc.x8s.de/ Link]
| [[btcZPool.com]]      || {{flag|us|label=1}}||    Large || BitCoinZ      || PPLNS                    || {{SharedFees}} || 1% ||      0% ||  {{Yes}} ||
| 2017-06-25 || VarDiff                      ||                                            || [http://www.btcZPool.com/ link]
|-
|-
| [[BW Mining]]     || China                || Medium || ?      || PPLNS & PPS            || ?              || ?    || ?      || {{Yes}} ||
| ?          || ?                            || ?                                          || [https://www.bw.com/pool link]
|-
| [[Eligius]]        || {{flag|us|label=1}}|| Small || [[NMC]]  || CPPSRB                  || {{SharedFees}}  ||    ||    0%    || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}}
| 2011-04-27 || Dynamic: 32 shares/m        || [https://bitcointalk.org/?topic=441465  link] || [http://eligius.st link]
|-
| [[EMCD Pool]]          || CIS, EU, KZ, IR, China || Medium || - || FPPS+                     || {{SharedFees}}    || 1%    ||    0%    || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| 2018-01-26 || Dynamic              ||  || [https://pool.emcd.io link]
|-
| [[GHash.IO]]        || {{flag|nl|label=1}}|| Small || [[NMC]], IXC, [[Devcoin]]      || PPLNS                  || {{SharedFees}}  ||      ||      0% || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| 2013-07-01 ||          User<ref name="changeable"/> ||  [https://support.cex.io  link]                                || [https://ghash.io/  link]
|-
| [[Give Me COINS]]  || {{flag|us}}{{flag|eu}}          || Small || [[NMC]]  || PPLNS                  || {{SharedFees}}    ||    ||  0%|| {{Yes}} || {{Yes}}
| 2013-08-12 || Dynamic        || [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=272017.0  link] || [http://give-me-coins.com link]
|-
| [[Jonny Bravo's Mining Emporium]]        ||{{flag|us|}}{{flag|eu}} || Small || No      || PPLNS                  || {{SharedFees}}  ||      ||      0.5% || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| 2015-11-19 ||  Dynamic ||  [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1330452.0  link]                                || [http://www.bravo-mining.com  link]
|-
| [[kmdPool.org]]      || {{flag|us|label=1}}||    Large || Komodo      || PPLNS                    || {{SharedFees}} || 1% ||      0% ||  {{Yes}} ||
| 2017-11-25 || VarDiff                      ||                                            || [http://www.kmdPool.org/ link]
|-
| [[MergeMining]]          || Global          ||  Small || CRW, DVC, HUC, I0C, IXC, XMY/MYR, NMC, SYS, UNO, TRC, ARG, EMC || PPLNS  || {{SharedFees}}  ||      ||      1% || {{Yes}} || {{No}}
| 2016-12-01|| User<ref name="changeable"/> ||  || [https://mergemining.com link]
|-
| [[Multipool]]          || {{flag|us}}{{flag|eu}}      ||  Small || [[NMC]] || Score                    || {{SharedFees}}    ||      ||      1.5% ||    {{Yes}}    || {{No}}
| 2012-03-15 || User                      || [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=311067.0  link] || [https://www.multipool.us/ link]
|-
| [[ZenPool.org]]      || {{flag|us|label=1}}||    Large || ZenCash      || PPLNS                    || {{SharedFees}} || 1% ||      0% ||  {{Yes}} ||
| 2017-10-25 || VarDiff                      ||                                            || [http://www.ZenPool.org/ link]
|-
|-
| [[ZA Bitcoin]] || South Africa|| 0.4 || Prop || kept by pool || 0% || - || ? || RPC (+LP) || 2011-06-14 || [http://forum.bitcoin.org/ Link] || [http://www.zabitcoin.co.za/ Link]
|}
|}


<references/>
 
== SPV Mining / Old Bitcoin Core ==
 
The following pools are known or strongly suspected to be mining on top of blocks before fully validating them with Bitcoin Core 0.9.5 or later.  Miners doing this have already lost over $50,000 USD during the 4 July 2015 fork and have created a situation where small numbers of confirmations are much less useful than they normally are.
 
* BTC Nuggets
* [https://www.f2pool.com/ F2Pool]<ref name="spv_despite_incident">[https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=700411.msg11790734#msg11790734 Intention to continue SPV mining], Wang Chun, 4 July 2015</ref>
* AntPool<ref name="spv_despite_incident" />
 
The following pools are believed to be currently fully validating blocks with Bitcoin Core 0.9.5 or later (0.10.2 or later recommended due to DoS vulnerabilities):
 
* [[BitMinter]]
* BTC China (described as SPV mining<ref name="spv_despite_incident" />, but they're performing effective valiation)
* [[BTC Public Mining Pool]]
* [[CKPool]]
* [[Eligius]]
* [[Golden Nonce Pool]]
* [[P2Pool]]
* [[Bitcoin Pooled Mining|Slush Pool]]
* [[BCMonster.com]]
* [[Jonny Bravo's Mining Emporium]]
 
== References ==
 
<references>
 
<ref name="hashrate2">Note that pool hashrate is largely irrelevant but can be seen as a popularity measurement. It is a theoretical security issue if one pool gains above 50% of the total computational power of the network, thus consider joining a pool based on other metrics. The pool's total hash rate is very dynamic on most pools. Over time, as the network grows, so does most pool's hash rates. The displayed values are the pool's relative sizes based on the network: Small: less than 2%, Medium: 2%-10% Large: greater than 10% of the network.</ref>
 
<ref name="merged">Merged mining allows miners to mine on multiple [[block chains]] at the same time with the same hashing.</ref>
 
<ref name="changeable">The difficulty of the shares can be changed by the user.</ref>
<ref name="solomm">Merged mining can be done on a "solo mining" basis (payouts in the merged chain are not pooled).</ref>
</references>


== See also ==
== See also ==
*[[Pooled mining]]
* [[Pooled mining]]
*[http://bcx.me/ Bitcoin Mining Pool Tracker]
* [https://www.blocktrail.com/BTC/pools Pool Distribution Summary]
 
* [https://www.bitcoinmining.com/ Bitcoin Mining]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmOzih6I1zs Video: What is Bitcoin Mining]
* [https://www.bitcoinmining.com/bitcoin-mining-pools/ Bitcoin Mining Pools]
* [https://bitcoinchain.com/pools Bitcoin Mining Pools Comparison]
[[Category:Mining]]
[[Category:Mining]]
{{Pools}}

Latest revision as of 16:24, 10 December 2023

Reward types & explanation:

  • CPPSRB - Capped Pay Per Share with Recent Backpay. [1]
  • DGM - Double Geometric Method. A hybrid between PPLNS and Geometric reward types that enables to operator to absorb some of the variance risk. Operator receives portion of payout on short rounds and returns it on longer rounds to normalize payments. [2]
  • ESMPPS - Equalized Shared Maximum Pay Per Share. Like SMPPS, but equalizes payments fairly among all those who are owed. [3]
  • POT - Pay On Target. A high variance PPS variant that pays on the difficulty of work returned to pool rather than the difficulty of work served by pool [4]
  • PPLNS - Pay Per Last N Shares. Similar to proportional, but instead of looking at the number of shares in the round, instead looks at the last N shares, regardless of round boundaries.
  • PPLNSG - Pay Per Last N Groups (or shifts). Similar to PPLNS, but shares are grouped into "shifts" which are paid as a whole.
  • PPS - Pay Per Share. Each submitted share is worth certain amount of BTC. Since finding a block requires <current difficulty> shares on average, a PPS method with 0% fee would be 6.25 BTC divided by <current difficulty>. It is risky for pool operators, hence the fee is highest.
  • Prop. - Proportional. When block is found, the reward is distributed among all workers proportionally to how much shares each of them has found.
  • RSMPPS - Recent Shared Maximum Pay Per Share. Like SMPPS, but system aims to prioritize the most recent miners first. [5]
  • Score - Score based system: a proportional reward, but weighed by time submitted. Each submitted share is worth more in the function of time t since start of current round. For each share score is updated by: score += exp(t/C). This makes later shares worth much more than earlier shares, thus the miner's score quickly diminishes when they stop mining on the pool. Rewards are calculated proportionally to scores (and not to shares). (at slush's pool C=300 seconds, and every hour scores are normalized)
  • SMPPS - Shared Maximum Pay Per Share. Like Pay Per Share, but never pays more than the pool earns. [6]
  • FPPS - Full Pay Per Share. Similar to PPS，but not only divide regular block reward (6.25 BTC for now) but also some of the transaction fees. Calculate a standard transaction fee within a certain period and distribute it to miners according to their hash power contributions in the pool. It will increase the miners' earnings by sharing some of the transaction fees.
  • TIDES - Transparent Index of Distinct Extended Shares. As blocks are being mined, they generate the reward by a weighted percentage of effort to the most recently found proofs. The proof period funds are distributed across has been chosen such that each proof should be paid on average 8 times. Instead of a set amount of bitcoins per proof, the block reward is divided by percent, so transaction fees are included.

A statistically valid analysis of some pools and their payout methods: Bitcoin network and pool analysis

Operational Pools

The following mining pools are still running and paying out their users:

Name Location Size[1] Merged Mining[2] Reward Type Transaction fees PPS Fee Other Fee GBT Launched Variance Forum Website
AntPool China Large No PPLNS & PPS kept by pool 2.5% 0% Yes No ? ? link link
BTC.com ChinaUnited StatesEurope Medium NMC FPPS shared 0% 4% Yes No 2016-09-13 User link link
DEMAND Global Small No SOLO shared 0% Yes No 2023-11-27 link link
F2Pool United StatesEuropeChina Large NMC, SYS, EMC PPS+ shared 2.5% 0% Yes No 2013-05-05 Dynamic link link
Golden Nonce Pool United StatesEurope Small No DGM kept by pool 0% Yes 2018-03-27 Dynamic link link
KanoPool United StatesSingaporeGermanyJapanNetherlands Medium No PPLNSG shared 0.9% Yes No 2014-09-20 User[3]/Dynamic 18SPM link link
P2Pool Global (p2p) Small Merged mining can be done on a "solo mining" basis [4] PPLNS shared 0% Yes No 2011-06-17 User[3] link
Poolin Global Medium NMC VCASH FPPS shared 2.5% 0% Yes Yes 2017-10-01 Dynamic link link
SBICrypto Pool Global Medium No FPPS shared 0% 0% Yes Yes 2020-11-03 User[3]/Dynamic link
Slush Pool Global Medium NMC Score shared 2% Yes No 2010-11-27 User[3] link link
Luxor United States Medium No FPPS & PPS shared 2% 0% Yes 2018-01-01 VarDiff link
OCEAN United States Small No TIDES shared 0% Yes No 2011-04-27 Dynamic link

Defunct Pools

The following pools were once operational but have since shut down. They are listed for historical purposes only.

Name Location Size[1] Merged Mining[2] Reward Type Transaction fees PPS Fee Other Fee GBT Launched Variance Forum Website
BCMonster.com United StatesEuropeChina Small No PPLNS shared 0.5% Yes No 2016-01-13 Dynamic link link
BitcoinAffiliateNetwork United StatesEuropeChinaNetherlandsAustralia ? NMC ? kept by pool ? ? Yes 2014-07-15 User/Dynamic link link
BitMinter United StatesEurope Small NMC PPLNSG shared 1% Yes No 2011-06-26 User[3]/Dynamic link link
BTCDig United States Small No DGM kept by pool 0% Yes 2013-07-04 User[3]/Dynamic 20SPM link link
btcmp.com Germany Small No PPS kept by pool 4% Yes 2011-06-28 Diff 1 link
BTCC Pool China, Japan Large NMC PPS kept by pool 2.0% 0% Yes Yes 2014-10-21 Dynamic ? link
btcZPool.com United States Large BitCoinZ PPLNS shared 1% 0% Yes 2017-06-25 VarDiff link
BW Mining China Medium ? PPLNS & PPS ? ? ? Yes ? ? ? link
Eligius United States Small NMC CPPSRB shared 0% Yes Yes 2011-04-27 Dynamic: 32 shares/m link link
EMCD Pool CIS, EU, KZ, IR, China Medium - FPPS+ shared 1% 0% Yes No 2018-01-26 Dynamic link
GHash.IO Netherlands Small NMC, IXC, Devcoin PPLNS shared 0% Yes No 2013-07-01 User[3] link link
Give Me COINS United StatesEurope Small NMC PPLNS shared 0% Yes Yes 2013-08-12 Dynamic link link
Jonny Bravo's Mining Emporium United StatesEurope Small No PPLNS shared 0.5% Yes No 2015-11-19 Dynamic link link
kmdPool.org United States Large Komodo PPLNS shared 1% 0% Yes 2017-11-25 VarDiff link
MergeMining Global Small CRW, DVC, HUC, I0C, IXC, XMY/MYR, NMC, SYS, UNO, TRC, ARG, EMC PPLNS shared 1% Yes No 2016-12-01 User[3] link
Multipool United StatesEurope Small NMC Score shared 1.5% Yes No 2012-03-15 User link link
ZenPool.org United States Large ZenCash PPLNS shared 1% 0% Yes 2017-10-25 VarDiff link


SPV Mining / Old Bitcoin Core

The following pools are known or strongly suspected to be mining on top of blocks before fully validating them with Bitcoin Core 0.9.5 or later. Miners doing this have already lost over $50,000 USD during the 4 July 2015 fork and have created a situation where small numbers of confirmations are much less useful than they normally are.

The following pools are believed to be currently fully validating blocks with Bitcoin Core 0.9.5 or later (0.10.2 or later recommended due to DoS vulnerabilities):

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Note that pool hashrate is largely irrelevant but can be seen as a popularity measurement. It is a theoretical security issue if one pool gains above 50% of the total computational power of the network, thus consider joining a pool based on other metrics. The pool's total hash rate is very dynamic on most pools. Over time, as the network grows, so does most pool's hash rates. The displayed values are the pool's relative sizes based on the network: Small: less than 2%, Medium: 2%-10% Large: greater than 10% of the network.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Merged mining allows miners to mine on multiple block chains at the same time with the same hashing.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 The difficulty of the shares can be changed by the user.
  4. ↑ Merged mining can be done on a "solo mining" basis (payouts in the merged chain are not pooled).
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Intention to continue SPV mining, Wang Chun, 4 July 2015

See also

Major
Active
Fledgling
Solo
Defunct


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