Bitcoin mining pools struggle to make payouts in bitcoin
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Operators of the world’s largest bitcoin (BTC) mining pools are quietly discussing a problem with BTC payouts. Despite mining BTC, securing BTC, and earning 100% of their revenue in BTC, pool operators are occasionally finding the currency itself to be cumbersome for paying their own workers. Although all major BTC mining pools pay for work in BTC currently, a few are warming up to the idea of an altcoin as a superior payment method. For months, developers and pool managers have engaged in deep discussions on technical forums like Delving Bitcoin around electronic cash (“ecash”) token alternatives to mining pool payouts. One of the discussion leaders, vnprc, has proposed a new form of eHash tokens that represent “liabilities” that can be “audited” using a so-called “Proof-of-Liabilities” protocol by Calle. The irony of such a string of terms is apparent to any BTC maximalist: new token, new proof, and new protocol. BTC is supposed to be the preeminent peer-to-peer digital cash so why are developers busy inventing a new token to pay for pure BTC work? How bitcoin is burdening mining pool payouts Participating in a mining pool is normally not as simple as contributing work and receiving a percentage of the coinbase reward and transaction fees whenever your pool mines a block. (Bitcoin’s coinbase reward is currently 3.125 BTC per 10-minute block, or about $325,000.) Unfortunately, pool operators face various idiosyncrasies with calculating miners’ level of computation, the pool’s costs since its last coinbase reward, and the inherent 10-minute transaction delays between Bitcoin blocks. Altogether, these factors complicate an immediate BTC payout to pool members. Consider the delays necessitated by pool payout structures like PPLNS to illustrate this frustration. Read more: Bitcoin mining is more difficult than ever Within some pool payout schemes like pay per last N shares (PPLNS),…
Filed under: News - @ January 17, 2025 8:13 pm