Bitcoin Mining Glossary

Understanding mining terminology is essential for choosing the right pool and maximizing your returns. Click any term to learn more.

Payout Methods

FPPS pays miners for both block rewards and transaction fees based on their share contribution, regardless of whether the pool finds a block.

PPLNS pays miners based on their shares in a recent window when a block is found. Lower fees but higher variance than FPPS.

PPS+ guarantees block reward payment per share while sharing transaction fees only when blocks are found. A middle ground between FPPS and PPLNS.

A simple payout method where block rewards are split proportionally to shares submitted between blocks. Mostly replaced by PPLNS.

Proof-of-work submissions from miners that demonstrate mining effort to the pool, used to calculate payout proportions.

Mining independently without a pool. The miner receives the full block reward if they find a block, but earns nothing otherwise.

The sequential number of a block in the Bitcoin blockchain, counting from the genesis block (block 0). Used to track chain progress.

The average time between Bitcoin blocks, targeting 10 minutes. Actual times vary but difficulty adjustments maintain the target.

The first transaction in every Bitcoin block that creates new BTC (the block subsidy) and collects all transaction fees for the miner.

A network parameter that controls how hard it is to find a valid block. Adjusts every 2,016 blocks to maintain the 10-minute target.

Computational power measured in hashes per second (TH/s, EH/s), representing a miner's or network's processing capability.

The ratio of expected blocks to actual blocks found. Above 100% means lucky (found blocks faster), below 100% means unlucky.

Mining multiple cryptocurrencies simultaneously using the same hashrate. No extra computational power needed if the pool supports it.

The smallest BTC balance a pool will send to a miner's wallet. Lower thresholds mean more frequent payouts but higher transaction fees.

A group of miners combining their hashrate to find blocks more frequently, sharing rewards proportionally to reduce income variance.

The total BTC a miner receives for finding a block: currently 3.125 BTC block subsidy plus all transaction fees included in the block.

An automatic recalibration every 2,016 blocks (~2 weeks) that adjusts mining difficulty to maintain Bitcoin's 10-minute block target.

An event every 210,000 blocks (~4 years) that cuts the Bitcoin block subsidy in half, reducing the rate of new BTC creation.

The total computational power of all miners on the Bitcoin network, currently exceeding 600 EH/s. Higher hashrate means greater security.