What is a mining pool?
Simply put, a mining pool is a collaborative network where multiple miners join forces to participate in cryptocurrency mining.
In cryptocurrency mining, the probability of a single miner successfully mining a block with their own computing power is extremely low, and the returns are unstable. The role of a mining pool is to aggregate the computing power of numerous miners, forming a stronger "combined force" to compete for block rewards. When a mining pool successfully mines a block, it distributes the rewards to the participating miners according to the proportion of computing power each miner contributes, allowing small and medium-sized miners to obtain relatively stable earnings.
For example, when mining Bitcoin, a mining pool may have thousands of miners joining. After aggregating their computing power, the probability of mining a block increases significantly. Suppose mining a block yields a reward of 6.25 Bitcoins (after the 2024 halving). The mining pool will split and distribute this reward based on the proportion of computing power each miner provides, avoiding the extreme situation where a single miner either "gets rich overnight or gets nothing at all".
The emergence of mining pools has lowered the threshold for mining, enabling ordinary users to earn continuous income by contributing a small amount of computing power without needing top-tier equipment. At the same time, it has improved the stability of the overall network's computing power.
