Key Factors to Consider When Choosing a Mining Pool

Despite proof of stake becoming the dominant version of blockchain consensus, proof-of-work mining remains a reliable and popular tech instrument with predictable rewards and a battle-tested income strategy.

As such, it makes sense to review the key parameters that should not be overlooked when choosing a cryptocurrency mining pool.

Choosing proper mining pool in 2024: What to know

Cryptocurrency experts typically indicate proper earning models, stable hashrate, a wide range of cryptos supported, powerful customer support unit and a stellar reputation as essential elements of the right crypto mining pool.

Earnings model and fees

Different cryptocurrency mining pools adhere to a variety of earning models, i.e., various pools distribute rewards in various ways. There is no “one size fits all” solution: choosing the most profitable strategy can be affected by the current market situation.

Customers should choose the most fitting model based on their hardware specifications, initial sum of investment, portfolio design, and so on. 

ViaBTC, one of the largest and most reliable mining pools, employs the PPS+ payment method to forecast earnings, which are composed of two main components: block base rewards and miner fee rewards. 

Block rewards are calculated using the PPS model, which reflects the theoretical earnings based on the user's computational power. Meanwhile, miner fee rewards are determined by the PPLNS model, which depends on actual miner fees from ViaBTC's block findings.

Hashrate and stability

The net hashrate of the mining pool refers to the share of its hashes in aggregated quantities of hashes for this or that blockchain. In other words, it reflects the dominance of the pool in the segment of cryptocurrency mining.

The larger the hashrate of the mining pool the higher the probability of being profitable in the long haul. Also, large hashrate paves the path for more predictable and stable business strategy for a given pool.

Besides being by far the largest mining pool in the world for Litecoin (LTC), a veteran Bitcoin (BTC) fork, ViaBTC, pioneered the concept of smart mining for its most popular BTC, BCH, ZEN and ZEC mining pools.

Users are invited to switch between mining currencies with a single click and can automatically reallocate their hashrate to mine more profitable currencies based on real-time market context.

Variety of supported cryptocurrencies

The larger the list of cryptocurrencies supported by this or that pool, the more flexible the mining strategy its customer can develop and maintain. Most advanced pools even support various mining algorithms - SHA-256, Equihash and so on.

Despite the growing quantity of cryptocurrencies on various algorithms, battle-tested first-generation blockchains remain the smart bet for the majority of investors. ViaBTC supports Bitcoin (BTC) mining, together with its forks, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin Cash ABC (XEC); all three are SHA-256d cryptocurrencies.

In addition, it supports Scrypt-based Bitcoin fork Litecoin (LTC), as well as niche altcoins such as privacy coin ZCash (ZEC), hybrid cryptos Dash (DASH) and Horizen (ZEN), eccentric PoW cryptocurrencies Nervos Network (CKB) and Kaspa (KAS), and Ethereum Classic (ETC), which adheres to the inaugural design of the Ethereum (ETH) protocol.

Besides that, ViaBTC is set to start supporting mining Bells (BEL), a prominent Scrypt PoW cryptocurrency. 

Technical support and user experience 

As cryptocurrency mining remains a sophisticated technical process, a responsible and accessible tech support department is a must for crypto mining pools in 2024. Also, to make cryptocurrency mining inclusive and democratic, mining pools should develop clear and understandable UX/UI.

Since the launch of its first version, ViaBTC has prioritized a customer-centric approach in all of its products. The platform runs numerous local customer support teams to allow customers to share their feedback in their native language.

Also, ViaBTC delivers exclusive educational content on blockchain, mining and cryptocurrencies, to make on-boarding of new customers more streamlined and frictionless. Even without having a ViaBTC account set up, crypto enthusiasts can advance their market understanding. 

Market reputation and сredibility

After checking tech details and user experience, potential customers should check the reputation of the mining services they are interested in joining. Learning the founders’ backgrounds, track of operations, social media presence is a must for a balanced solution on choosing this or that mining pool.

ViaBTC is among the few mining pools that have never been hacked or compromised. Its team includes reputable cryptocurrency OGs and is proud of its proven history track in the industry.

Wrapping up

Choosing a cryptocurrency mining pool in 2024 might be a challenging task, in particular for newcomers. It requires considering and researching the economical models of popular pools, their tech specifications (algorithms and coins available, net hashrate, payout instruments), as well as market reputation and previous accomplishments track.

ViaBTC, a cryptocurrency mining veteran, offers comprehensive solutions for various mining algorithms.