In 2025, cryptocurrency mining remains a crucial part of the digital money ecosystem. However, mining alone is nearly impossible due to complex calculations and high costs. This is where mining pools come in—groups where individuals combine their computing power to mine cryptocurrency together and share the rewards. This article explains how mining pools work, why they are popular, and the potential issues that can arise if they become too large.
What Are Mining Pools?
Mining pools are groups of people who join forces to mine cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Each participant contributes their computer power, working together as one big team. When the team successfully mines cryptocurrency, the reward is shared among all members. It’s similar to friends solving a puzzle together—everyone adds their pieces, completing the picture much faster than if they were doing it alone.
Why Are Mining Pools Important in 2025?
By 2025, solo cryptocurrency mining has become extremely difficult. Computers must solve increasingly complex tasks, requiring powerful hardware and large amounts of electricity. If you’re using a regular home computer, your chances of earning anything on your own are almost nonexistent—it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack. Mining pools allow people with basic devices to join a larger team and earn a share of the rewards, making mining accessible despite its growing complexity. Without mining pools, crypto mining would be dominated by wealthy companies with massive warehouses full of mining equipment.
How Do Mining Pools Help You Earn?
When mining alone, rewards are rare but large—similar to winning the lottery. You might hit the jackpot, but most likely, you’ll just waste time and resources. In a mining pool, you earn smaller but more frequent rewards, creating a steady income stream. Imagine waiting a whole year for a big cake versus getting a slice every day.
Mining pools make the process more predictable, turning mining into a stable job. Participants contribute computing power and receive consistent payouts based on their efforts.
Also read: What Is Cryptocurrency Mining? How Miners Work, Why It’s Used, and How to Earn from It.
How Is the Reward Distributed in a Mining Pool?
When a mining pool earns cryptocurrency, it needs a fair way to divide the rewards among participants. This ensures everyone stays motivated and continues working together. There are several common methods:
- Pay-per-share (PPS). You get paid for every piece of work your computer contributes, even if the pool hasn’t found a block yet—similar to earning wages for hours worked, not just results.
- Proportional (PROP). You receive a share of the reward only when the pool successfully mines a block, based on how much work you contributed—like splitting a cake after it’s baked.
- Pay-per-last-N-shares (PPLNS). Rewards depend on your recent contributions right before the block was found. This prevents users from joining only at the last moment.
Each method aims to be fair and keep the team motivated.
Also read: Mining Farm: What It Is, How It Looks and Works, How to Build or Buy One, and Profit Calculation in 2025.
Best Mining Pools
In 2025, cryptocurrency mining remains popular, and mining pools help combine resources to increase the chances of earning rewards. Here’s a quick overview of the top 10 pools worth considering:
1. Via.BTC
- Via.BTC — is an independent mining pool founded in 2014 that has become a leader in the Russian market. With a hash rate of 120 EH/s, it ranks among the world’s largest pools. It focuses on miners from Russia and CIS countries, offering a user-friendly experience for the local audience. Via.BTC has grown from a small platform into a major competitor against global mining giants.
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Key Features:
- Offers both PPS and FPPS payout options for flexible earnings.
- Supports Bitcoin and several other cryptocurrencies (e.g., BCH).
- Provides a Russian-language interface and customer support tailored to local miners.
2. Binance Pool
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Binance Pool — is a mining pool launched in 2020 by the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. With a hash rate of 54 EH/s, it operates globally, attracting users from its vast ecosystem. The pool is designed for those who want to mine Bitcoin and immediately use it on the exchange for trading or storage. This is part of Binance’s strategy to make cryptocurrencies accessible to everyone, including miners.
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Key Features:
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Uses FPPS for stable payouts.
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Integrated with Binance, allowing mined coins to be directly sent to the exchange for trading or storage.
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Offers additional services, such as staking (holding coins for passive income).
Requires identity verification (KYC).
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3. EMCD Pool
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EMCD Pool —is a Russian mining pool launched as part of the EMCD digital asset ecosystem, a company that focuses not only on mining but also on other crypto services. With a hash rate of 21 EH/s, the pool is designed for miners from Russia and the CIS, offering Bitcoin mining and several other coins, such as Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash. This platform caters to those who want to combine mining with other ways of earning in the crypto space.
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Key Features:
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Operates on FPPS, ensuring stable payouts.
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In addition to mining, it offers services like cryptocurrency storage and staking with returns of up to 14% annually.
Supports BTC, LTC, and BCH, and has partnerships with local companies.
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4. Foundry USA Pool
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Foundry USA Pool — is an American mining pool established in 2022 by Digital Currency Group (DCG), a company known for its investments in cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects. With a hash rate of 277 EH/s (exahashes per second), it is considered the most powerful mining pool in the world as of 2025. Its primary goal is to bring together large miners and companies from the United States who mine Bitcoin, providing them with a professional platform for their operations. This pool has gained popularity due to its scale and support from a major financial group.
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Key Features:
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Operates using the FPPS (Full Pay-Per-Share) model, where miners receive fixed payment for each share of work plus a portion of transaction fees from mined blocks.
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Adheres to strict SOC2 security standards, making it ideal for large organizations.
Offers tools for managing mining operations, such as analytics and reporting, which are particularly useful for professionals.
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5. Antpool
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Antpool — is a Chinese mining pool launched in 2014 by Bitmain, a global leader in manufacturing mining equipment (ASICs). With a hash rate of 146 EH/s, it ranks as one of the largest players in the market. The pool is designed for miners using Bitmain hardware and offers mining services for Bitcoin and other coins, such as Bitcoin Cash. Antpool is the choice for those who seek powerful mining capabilities and a close connection between their equipment and the platform.
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Key Features:
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Uses the PPS+ (Pay-Per-Share Plus) method, combining fixed payouts for shares with bonuses from transaction fees.
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Closely integrated with Bitmain hardware, making setup quick and easy for users with their devices.
Supports mining not only Bitcoin but also other coins such as Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
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6. Luxor Pool
- Luxor Pool — is an American mining pool founded in 2017 by a small team of developers in the U.S. With a hash rate of 24 EH/s, it’s smaller compared to industry leaders but stands out for its approach to technology. The pool is designed for mid-level miners who want to mine Bitcoin using modern solutions. Luxor started as a startup focused on improving mining efficiency and has grown into a notable player due to its innovations.
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Key Features:
- Operates on FPPS (Full Pay-Per-Share), ensuring stable payouts, including transaction fees.
- Developed its proprietary software, LuxOS, which enhances the performance of mining devices.
- Offers hash rate contracts, allowing users to buy computational power without purchasing equipment.
- Primarily supports Bitcoin mining.
7. F2Pool
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F2Pool — is one of the oldest mining pools, established in 2013 in China. With a hash rate of 77 EH/s, it remains a significant player, especially popular in Central Asia. This pool was one of the first to bring together miners from around the world and today supports the mining of not only Bitcoin but also other cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and Ethereum Classic. F2Pool is a platform with a long history, suitable for those seeking experience and variety.
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Key Features:
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Supports two payment methods — PPS and PPS+, providing a choice between fixed payouts and bonuses from transaction fees.
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Known for merged mining: allows users to mine Bitcoin while simultaneously mining other coins like Litecoin (LTC) or Ethereum Classic (ETC).
Offers a user-friendly interface and a mobile app for convenient access.
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8. Braiins Pool
- Braiins Pool, formerly known as Slushpool, is the oldest mining pool in the world, established in 2010 in the Czech Republic. With a hash rate of 13 EH/s, it is smaller than the industry leaders but renowned for its long history and solid reputation. This pool was the first to unite miners for Bitcoin mining and remains a top choice for those who value stability and tradition. It is mainly aimed at small and medium miners.
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Key Features:
- Operates on the FPPS model, ensuring predictable payouts.
- Completely transparent — its code is open, allowing anyone to check how it works.
- Developed Braiins OS — a firmware designed to enhance the performance of ASIC miners.
- Supports only Bitcoin mining.
9. Ocean Pool
- Ocean Pool — is a new mining pool launched in 2023 with support from Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter and a prominent Bitcoin advocate. While its hash rate is currently small, at just 3 EH/s, it is quickly gaining popularity. The pool is designed for those who believe in decentralization and want to support Bitcoin’s original vision as a free currency. This project is driven by strong philosophy rather than just profit motives.
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Key Features:
- Uses the PPLNS (Pay-Per-Last-N-Shares) model, where payouts depend on contributions to the last tasks before a block is found. While less stable, it is fairer to long-term participants.
- Focuses on decentralization, avoiding the processing of controversial transactions, setting it apart from other pools.
10. SBICrypto Pool
- SBICrypto Pool — is a mining pool created by the Japanese financial company SBI Holdings, which is actively involved with cryptocurrencies. With a hash rate of 10 EH/s, it is focused on the Asian market, especially Japan. The pool was launched as part of SBI’s strategy to bridge traditional finance with the world of cryptocurrencies, attracting miners who prefer to work with a reliable financial company.
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Key Features:
- Offers both PPS and FPPS payment models, allowing miners to choose between fixed payouts and bonuses from transaction fees.
- Integrated with SBI’s financial services, such as banking accounts and cryptocurrency trading.
- Supports Bitcoin only.
What is the risk of centralization?
Centralization in mining occurs when too many miners join a single large pool. This increases their influence over the cryptocurrency network, which can lead to problems. Imagine there is one football team in your city, and all the best players are on it. This team will always win, but others will stop playing, and the competition will disappear.
In 2025, large pools may take control of too much mining power, which can be problematic if one pool starts to control more than half of the computing power in the cryptocurrency network. This could lead to the pool manipulating the rules or even engaging in fraudulent activities.
Why is centralization a problem?
Cryptocurrencies were originally created to avoid a single controlling entity—everyone should be equal. However, if large pools dominate mining, they can act like centralized entities, which goes against the core principles of decentralization. This is dangerous because a powerful pool could manipulate the system, for example, by canceling other people’s transactions or taking more money than they are entitled to.
Also read: Mining on phones. TOP-6 mining bots in Telegram. Best miners in 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do people choose pools?
How are technologies changing pools?
Why is trust important in pools?
How do laws affect pools?
What’s in store for pools in the future?
How do you join a mining pool?
- Visit the chosen pool’s website and create an account—usually, you need to provide an email and create a password.
- Download the recommended software that supports this pool. The pool’s website usually has a section with recommendations on which programs work best.
- Set up the software: specify your devices (e.g., computer or ASIC) that will contribute computational power.
- In the settings, add your cryptocurrency wallet address where the payments will go, as well as the pool’s parameters (usually provided on the website, such as server URL and port).
- Run the miner—and that’s it! You, the future miner, will start mining cryptocurrency with the pool.
What do you need to register in a pool?
How do you set up mining software for a pool?
- Install the recommended program (e.g., CGMiner, BFGMiner, or others).
- Open the software and input the following:
- Pool parameters (server address and port)—these are provided on the pool’s website.
- Your wallet address—where payments will go.
- Username (usually given during pool registration).
- Make sure the software detects your devices (e.g., GPUs, ASICs, or CPU).
- Save the settings and launch the miner. The program will connect to the pool, and you’ll start mining.
Can you mine cryptocurrency without a pool?
What about other cryptocurrencies, not Bitcoin?
- Equipment power (hashrate).
- The network difficulty of the chosen coin (this indicates how hard it is to find a block).
- The total network hashrate (the higher it is, the harder it is to compete).
It’s said that for normal earnings in solo mining, the miner’s hashrate should be at least 0.05% of the total network hashrate. If not, it’s better to join a pool to avoid wasting time and money.
Why are pools more popular than solo mining?
Does the pool’s power affect the miner’s income?
Can you increase mining power without new equipment?
