Cryptocurrency Mining Pools - A Complete Guide. Pools for the cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC), review of the best BTC-Pool Reliable pools for mining Bitcoins

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 is to join together 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 there are already 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.

PPLNSPay 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:

SoloCPPSRBPPSW
PPS+GeometricPOT
SMPPSDGMBPM
ESMPPSFPPSEligius
PuddinpopHBPPSTriplemining
RSMPPSRBPPSScore

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 parameters 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 as possible to the equipment. 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. The 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). Conditional disadvantages include the commission, which 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 the PPLNS reward system. It ranks 4th in power among all servers for ETH (almost 11% of the total hashrate). Also considered one of the best RVN mining pools, it supports 8 cryptocurrencies in total.

The pool charges a 1% commission.

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 with the lowest commission among all major servers - 0.6%. It also occupies a leading position in terms of uptime, the value reaches 100%.

A popular cloud mining service, 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.

In this blog, we will tell you which pool is best for mining Bitcoin, and also give the 7 best pools for mining bitcoin, litecoin and other cryptocurrencies that are mined using ASICs.

We will be talking specifically about those pools that allow you to mine on your own equipment, and not in the cloud.

First, let's answer the question: "What is a pool." A pool is a group of miners who join forces to generate blocks quickly and receive rewards based on the benefit your equipment brings. This way you get a fairly predictable income, unlike self-mining or solo mining, where the reward depends only on you. If your power is weak, then you shouldn’t count on making money using the solo algorithm!

What are the main factors to consider when choosing a pool?

Pool size

Large pools offer more regular payouts, but small ones due to the number of participants. Smaller pools offer less frequent but larger payouts. Whichever pool you choose, the rewards received will be approximately the same in the long run.

Remuneration calculation method

There are several basic methods for calculating remuneration.

Pay-per-Share (PPS): The user receives a reward for each share contributed to the pool.

Pay per Last N Shares (PPLNS): The method is similar to proportional, but each user receives a reward based on the last N shares deposited into the pool.

SOLO - payout for a found block. The most profitable type of mining, provided that you have enormous computing power. Otherwise, you shouldn't count on luck.

The most rare reward algorithms

PROP (Proportional): The user's reward is proportional to the number of shares invested in the pool.

Score (Temporary): The reward depends on the time that has passed since the share was granted (in other words, if the miner stops working with the pool, his reward will begin to fall quickly).

What commission does the pool take when withdrawing funds?

Most pools charge a fee, depending on the mining option. Therefore, carefully study the conditions, and then choose a specific pool.

What are the 7 best pools for mining bitcoins today?

Below are the most popular pools that allow you to reliably receive rewards for mining.

SlushPool reviews and review

The world's first large Bitcoin pool, which launched 8 years ago. SlushPool is located in the Czech Republic and is managed by Satoshi Labs.

The Score method is used to calculate remuneration to prevent participants from switching to other associations. The share of this medium-sized pool in the network’s computing power is 9.7% (as of December 5, 2017, according to Blockchain.info).

A fixed fee of 2% is charged per transaction, which is divided between miners.

Automatic withdrawal of funds is available when the threshold value is reached.

SlushPool allows you to mine Zcash (ZEC) for free. Control panel in several languages, including Russian. It allows you to receive all the necessary information about mining your equipment.

Pros: The first Bitcoin mining pool and one of the most reputable on the market.

The Score-based reward calculation method reduces the risk of fraud.

Convenient control panel

  • When your balance exceeds the payout threshold, the pool sends it to your payout address

Minuses: Commission of 2%.

  • additional fee at the rate of 0.0001 BTC is withdrawn from payments less than 0.01 BTC.

Antpool reviews and review

Chinese Bitcoin pool managed by Bitmain Technologies. It accounts for 16.9% of the network's computing power, making it the largest by far.

The advantage of Antpool is that you can choose the remuneration calculation method - PPLNS (0% commission) or PPS (2.5% commission) (each method has its own advantages).

Payments are made once a day, the threshold is set at 0.001 BTC.

Beginners will enjoy the simple and intuitive interface. The dashboard displays your earnings and hash rate, and you can configure security settings including two-step authentication, email alerts, and wallet locking. Universal recognition and rich history make Antpool one of the best options for new Bitcoin miners.

Pros: You can choose the remuneration calculation method (PPLNS or PPS).

Convenient and intuitive interface.

Ability to change security settings.

Minuses: Payouts are smaller due to large pool size

The ASIC is not always connected to the pool, and therefore there may be significant downtime of your equipment.

An example of an error that many pool users give: tonight the ASIC froze for some reason and stopped working correctly. It starts up, the coolers are all working, the chips light up, but the status is all zero and after a while the chips go out. I installed the firmware at 600 power, it showed “Socket connect failed: Connection refused”, has anyone had this?

If you see that your ASIC is working, but there is no information in the miner status, then in most cases it is enough to switch to another pool and the ASIC will work normally again.

F2Pool reviews and reviews

The Chinese pool F2Pool opened in 2013. Currently, its share in the network's computing power is 9.4%. The pool uses the PPS method to calculate rewards, but the commission is quite high - 4%.

In addition to Bitcoin, F2Pool mines Litecoin, Ethereum, and Zcash (ZEC). Payments are made daily when the threshold value of 0.001 BTC is reached.

Unlike other Chinese pools, F2Pool has an English interface. The information is presented in a simple and concise manner, making it a particularly suitable option for beginners.

Pros: Ability to mine BTC, LTC, ETH and ZEC.

Regular payments.

Very low threshold value.

Minuses: The commission (4%) is higher than most other pools.

BTCChina

Pool with 10-12% The network ranks fourth in the overall ranking and third in China. This Bitcoin pool belongs to the Chinese exchange of the same name, one of the largest in the world. In this way, it expands the range of its services and also conducts its own transactions without relying on third-party services. The pool is open only to exchange clients; in addition, it has significant in-house capacity. Unfortunately, its interface is very poorly translated even into English, not to mention other languages. Therefore, information on it is extremely limited.

BW pool

Rounding out the top four BW.com With 7-9% capacity. There is a partial translation into Russian, much more clumsy than that of Antpool. The main accrual system is PPLNS no commission.

String for connecting via standard port - stratum+tcp://stratum.bw.com:3333.

As a result, the four largest Chinese pools “hold” 55-60% of the network hashrate, which cannot but cause concern in the community.

Kano CKPool

Also known as KanoPool, Kano CKPool was founded in 2014. This mid-sized pool uses the PPLNS model to calculate payouts, charges a 0.9% commission, and transaction rewards are shared among participants. It currently accounts for about 0.4% of the network's computing power.

Every day the pool calculates 2-3 blocks. Unlike other pools, Kano CKPool will only allow you to mine Bitcoins. There is no payout threshold - you will receive constant but small payments for your computing power. This is a relatively simple pool, but its interface could use some updating. The control panel lacks many features, although two-step authentication is available for added security.

Pros: No payment threshold.

Good support and open community.

Relatively low commissions.

Minuses: The interface needs improvement.

Eligius reviews and reviews

The Eligius mining pool is located in the USA and is one of the oldest (founded in 2011). It is very easy to join as no registration is required. This relatively small pool controls just under 1% of the network's computing power. One of the main advantages of Eligius is the absence of commissions.

Users receive 100% of the block reward, including transaction payouts.

Eligius uses a PPS model, with a payout threshold of 0.04 BTC. Thus, in order to quickly receive a payout, the participant must have a lot of computing power. In addition to Bitcoins, Eligius allows you to mine Namecoins.

Pros: Easy to join - no registration required.

There is no commission.

You can mine Namecoin.

Minuses: Available only to owners of ASIC systems.

What pool are you mining on? Share in the comments and ask questions.

It's time to connect to the mining pool.

What is a mining pool?

Mining pools are groups of cooperating miners who agree to share rewards for a block according to how much computing power they contributed to its completion.

Mining pools are popular among miners because they allow them to receive more predictable income, but their disadvantage is that the power is concentrated in the hands of the pool owner.

Of course, miners retain the right to redirect their computing power to any other pool at any time.

Concentration of pools in China

Before we begin to advise you on the best mining pools, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the majority of mining pools are concentrated in China. The websites and technical support of many of them are exclusively in Chinese. The centralization of mining in China is one of the most serious problems of Bitcoin at the moment.

There are about 20 main mining pools. Having studied the percentage of computing power controlled by pools, the location of farms and companies, we found that Chinese pools control about 81% of the total computing power of the Bitcoin network:

China - 81%

Czech Republic - 10%

Iceland - 2%

Japan - 2%

Georgia - 2%

Russia 1%

The Biggest Mining Pools

Largest mining pools

The table below shows the largest Bitcoin mining pools. It is based on information from the Blockchain pool share chart:

We highly recommend new miners to join Slush Pool, even though it is not the largest pool. This is simply the first Bitcoin mining pool and is still one of the most reliable, especially for beginners.

1. BTC.com

BTC.com is a public mining pool that anyone can join. However, we once again recommend joining the Slush Pool.

2. Antpool

Mining pools vs. Cloud mining

Many people read about mining pools and think that they are just a group that gives out free bitcoins periodically. This is wrong! Mining pools are designed for people who have mining equipment and are willing to share the profits with others.

These mining pools account for up to 60% of the total computing power of the Bitcoin network, which also means that 60% of new bitcoins are also their credit.

Georgia

Note on pools

While we can already see which pools are the largest, it is important to understand that the hashing power of a mining pool does not necessarily belong to the pool itself.

There are situations - for example, BitFury and KnCMiner - when the company is responsible for the mining procedure itself, but you do not own the mining pool.

Bitcoin miners can easily switch between pools, redirecting their computing power here and there. Therefore, the shares of pools in the mining market are constantly changing.

To compile the list of the top 10 miners, we evaluated the blocks mined over the past six months, based on information from BlockTrail.

The size of mining pools is constantly changing, and we will do our best to ensure that this post is always filled with only the most up-to-date information.

Note:

If you use cloud mining, then you do not need to select a pool. The cloud mining service does this automatically.

Why are miners so important?

Bitcoin miners are important for the Bitcoin network at least for security. Without miners, the Bitcoin network would be vulnerable.

Remember this:

Most Bitcoin users do not mine.

However, miners are responsible for creating all new Bitcoin coins and fueling the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Mining, for which a home computer would once have been suitable, today takes place in specialized, equipped farm hangars filled with mining equipment.

Typically, such farms redirect their computing power to mining pools.

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 operates merged mining NMC and a multipool, offering a large selection of 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. There is no public access 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".

Virtual money has firmly entered our consciousness and has become a common occurrence in recent years.

Let's try to understand one of the concepts and processes such as "Pool Mining"

The main purpose is the extraction of crypto coins, and the main role in this is played by a virtual server, which in turn distributes profits evenly between the participants in the involved process.

If someone manages to “capture the target,” a conditional block is formed around him, and all involved groups or participants receive a certain amount of reward.

Contents:

A mining pool has a greater chance of extracting a crypto asset than a single miner, but there is a significant disadvantage.

A single miner does not share profits with anyone, and all participants in the “pool” receive an equal reward.

Let us also note this fact: mining alone is becoming more difficult day by day, and the costs of equipment and electricity are growing every day.

Pool mining solves this issue by combining several participants, while the costs are borne equally by everyone.

Cloud pools stand apart in this process, such as HashFlare And Genesis Mining, where the total capacity is distributed within the buried project.

This, in turn, increases the prestige of the service, makes the mining process maximum autonomous, and, therefore, the main profitability of the mining process is not lost.

The main principle of the system’s operation is that it should not be more than 51% of the total hash power of the entire network.

As an example, let’s take the experience of one mining pool, Ghash.io, which in 2015 reached a critical threshold and asked its participants to leave the service without any questions, for one trivial reason - for the safety of the operation of the entire network.

If we give current statistics, today the number of pools has exceeded 1,500 services. Moreover, most of them work exclusively on Bitcoin pools.

The essence of Bitcoin mining is so difficult that now no one mines alone, and only at the dawn of the currency, only 1 person was engaged in mining, using an ordinary personal computer, and the name of this person is well known to everyone - Satoshi Nakamoto.

Today, even with a super-powerful computer It's impossible to mine Bitcoin easily, all pool participants are connected to this work. You can use other currencies that do not require such super-powerful computers, but the cost of such a currency will be “mere pennies.”

Only the top ten crypto assets attract great interest, among which are in high demand.

How to choose your pool correctly

Now let's move on to the practical part. What is pool mining in principle?

To do this we will need to find out basic terms:

  • Pool power. New associations will not be able to give you a decent profit, since there is not enough capacity, and, therefore, the block reward will rarely fall on the group;
  • Evaluation of your own equipment. It is necessary to study the parameters of your computer in detail, almost with a magnifying glass. Having studied all its possibilities, you can safely join the general flow;
  • Profit sharing options. Income is divided among all members of the crypto club depending on how much participation each member of the pool takes. As a rule, profits are divided proportionally;
  • Pay. In this case, you will need to study the withdrawal limits so as not to wait for months for payment.

How are pools differentiated?

Now let's dwell on an important point - how the profit or reward for conducting business is distributed.

PPS, PROP, and PPLNS technologies are used as such techniques.

Let's look at the characteristics of the services.

For example, if you use ASIC, then set a conditional variable complexity of the form VARDIFF (Variable Difficulty) on your section of the pool. This will allow you to avoid wasting valuable time on low shares of the mining pool, which contributes to achieving higher goals. As a rule, the setup is done automatically, but if you want to configure it manually, then do not forget about the power of your hashrate. Some operators may ask for your mining hash power.

Review of the best Bitcoin mining pools

If you do not want to delve into the operation of each service, that is, you have neither the knowledge nor the desire to study this entire “kitchen”, we suggest you stop your choice on the NiceHash multipool service.

A fairly clear interface, completely Russified.

The service supports almost all known algorithms for mining.

We have our own software and rewards are provided only in the most profitable cryptocurrency today - .

  • BTC China. The third Chinese service, which, according to its own information, holds up to 12% of the network hashrate. There is no Russian version, you can use the English version of the resource. Despite the rather impressive hashrate, for some reason this service is not popular among the Russian-speaking audience.

  • BW pool. An additional Chinese resource that holds up to 9% of the network hashrate. You can mine bitcoins, the popularity is average among the Russian-speaking audience of miners.

This list can be continued endlessly, there are also a couple of pools that own from 5% to 12% of the total hashrate, such as Slush, Eligius, Ghash.io, Mining Pool Hub.

As you can see, the main segment of mining in the pool is related to Bitcoin mining. Recently, Ethereum mining services have been on the rise, so The demand for this crypto asset is growing exponentially.

The best pools for mining Ethereum crypto funds

Let’s take a brief look at Ethereum mining services, which have similar characteristics to Bitcoin.

  • Ethpool.org. The very first of the recognized official services, which almost everyone can join. The network traffic volume is 20%. Now the service’s policy has changed, and they work exclusively with old “personnel”.

  • ETH Nanopool. The service collects up to 40% of all hash power, with a commission of about 2%. Currently, the service is actively developing and growth prospects are quite large.

Let’s say right away that these methods are suitable for those who want to try their luck in making money, but for serious work you will have to either buy powerful video cards and mine alone (as mentioned above, this is very difficult), or join the ranks of a pool where you will get their share of the profits of all participants.