ASIC Mining Glossary
What is a mining pool?
A mining pool combines the hashrate of thousands of miners so that the group finds blocks regularly. The pool then shares the rewards among its members according to the work each one contributed.
Almost every ASIC miner connects to a pool. Without one, a single machine competes alone against the entire network and may wait decades before finding a block.
Why miners join a pool
Worked example: solo mining odds
On September 29, 2026 the Bitcoin network ran at about 946 EH/s (OMS calculator data). An Antminer S21 XP at 270 TH/s represents about 0.00003% of that hashrate. With 144 blocks per day, it would find one block on average every 66 years or so.
In a pool, the same machine receives a small, steady share of the rewards every day instead of a very unlikely jackpot.
The pool does not increase your expected revenue: it smooths it. Your average earnings still depend on your hashrate, minus the pool fee.
How a pool works
- Shares: the pool gives your miner easier targets than the real network. Each solution is a "share" that proves how much work you did.
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Stratum: miners talk to the pool with the Stratum protocol. You enter a pool address (for example
stratum+tcp://pool-address:port), a worker name and usually a simple password such as "x". -
Workers: each machine gets its own worker name, such as
account.miner01, so you can follow it on the pool dashboard. - Backup pools: Bitmain and MicroBT miners accept up to three pool addresses. If the first one goes down, the miner switches to the next.
Payout methods
| Method | How you are paid | Variance |
|---|---|---|
| PPS (Pay Per Share) | A fixed amount for each valid share, whether or not the pool finds a block | Low: the pool takes the risk |
| FPPS (Full Pay Per Share) | Like PPS, plus an estimated share of transaction fees | Low |
| PPS+ | PPS for the block subsidy, fees shared when blocks are found | Low to medium |
| PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares) | A share of each block actually found by the pool | Higher: income follows the pool's luck |
| Solo pool | The whole block reward if your own machine finds the block | Very high |
Pool fees usually range from 0% to about 4% of revenue. Methods that remove variance, such as FPPS, tend to charge more than PPLNS.
How to choose a pool
- Fee and payout method: compare the net result, not only the headline fee.
- Server location: pick servers close to your site, for example in North America for miners in the United States, to reduce latency and stale shares.
- Minimum payout: check the threshold before the pool sends coins to your wallet.
- Supported coins: Scrypt pools often pay Litecoin plus Dogecoin and other coins through merged mining.
- Transparency: a clear dashboard with hashrate, rejected shares and payment history for each worker.
Well-known Bitcoin pools include Foundry USA, AntPool, F2Pool, ViaBTC and Braiins Pool. Terms change over time, so compare them when you set up your miners.
Connecting a miner to a pool, step by step
- Create an account on the pool and a worker name for each machine. Add your own wallet address for payouts and turn on two-factor authentication.
- Connect the miner to your network with an Ethernet cable and find its IP address in your router or with the manufacturer's IP tool.
- Open that IP address in a browser, log in with the credentials from the manual and change the default password.
- In the pool settings, enter the main pool address and two backup addresses, each with the worker name and password.
- Save and wait 10 to 15 minutes, then check that the worker appears online on the pool dashboard with the expected hashrate.
Keep a note of the settings for each machine: it makes changing pools or replacing a miner much faster. For help with setup or repairs, see our ASIC support and repair page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change pools?
Yes. Change the pool address in the miner's web interface and restart mining. Unpaid balances below the minimum payout may stay on the old pool.
Why does the pool show less hashrate than my miner?
The pool estimates hashrate from the shares it receives, so short periods vary. Compare 24-hour averages, and check rejected shares if the gap stays large.
Does a pool change my miner's profitability?
Only through its fee and payout method. Profitability mostly depends on hashrate, energy efficiency and your electricity price.