Three operators in our Missouri Facility A run identical Antminer S21 XPs at identical hashrate, on identical power, in identical racks. The only difference is which mining pool they point their hashrate at. Over the past 90 days, the operator on Foundry USA earned roughly $9,420 in gross BTC revenue. The operator on F2Pool earned approximately $9,180. The operator on Braiins Pool with PPLNS earned $8,940 over the same window, but with a 0% pool fee versus F2Pool's 2.5% effective fee, the net comparison flips: Braiins netted $8,940 versus F2Pool's $8,950. Within $10. Same hardware. Same period. Three different decisions about transaction inclusion in every block they helped find.
Pool selection is the most consequential decision a miner makes after the hardware purchase. It is also the decision most miners make on autopilot, picking whatever pool the manufacturer's firmware ships pointed at by default. The default for an Antminer is AntPool. The default for a WhatsMiner is often Foundry. Neither is wrong, but neither is automatically right either. The real decision spans four axes that most pool comparisons either skip or get wrong, and the differences between pools matter more than the fee comparison everyone runs.
This piece compares the 11 major Bitcoin mining pools that account for over 80 percent of network hashrate as of May 2026: the Big Two (Foundry USA at roughly 30 percent, AntPool at roughly 18 percent), the Established Three (F2Pool, ViaBTC, MARA Pool), the Decentralization Camp (Braiins Pool, Ocean), and four Specialists (Luxor, Binance Pool, SBI Crypto, EMCD). All scored honestly on payout structure, centralization risk, transparency, and operational reliability. With a buyer-profile decision matrix at the end that tells you specifically which pool fits your operation.
If you have already chosen a pool but have not connected your hardware yet, our F2Pool setup walkthrough covers the practical configuration steps with stratum URLs, worker naming, and first-share verification. This piece picks up before that decision, when you are still figuring out which pool deserves your hashrate.
The 4-axis framework: payout, centralization, transparency, reliability
Pool selection is the most consequential decision a miner makes after the hardware purchase. It is also the decision most miners make on autopilot, picking whatever pool the manufacturer's firmware ships pointed at by default. The default for an Antminer is AntPool. The default for a WhatsMiner is often Foundry. Neither is wrong, but neither is automatically right either. The real decision spans four axes that most pool comparisons either skip or get wrong, and the differences between pools matter more than the fee comparison everyone runs.
This piece compares the 11 major Bitcoin mining pools that account for over 80 percent of network hashrate as of May 2026: the Big Two (Foundry USA at roughly 30 percent, AntPool at roughly 18 percent), the Established Three (F2Pool, ViaBTC, MARA Pool), the Decentralization Camp (Braiins Pool, Ocean), and four Specialists (Luxor, Binance Pool, SBI Crypto, EMCD). All scored honestly on payout structure, centralization risk, transparency, and operational reliability. With a buyer-profile decision matrix at the end that tells you specifically which pool fits your operation.
If you have already chosen a pool but have not connected your hardware yet, our F2Pool setup walkthrough covers the practical configuration steps with stratum URLs, worker naming, and first-share verification. This piece picks up before that decision, when you are still figuring out which pool deserves your hashrate.
The 4-axis framework: payout, centralization, transparency, reliability
Most pool comparison content scores pools on fees and stops there. That single dimension produces wrong recommendations because it ignores three equally important variables. The full decision spans four axes:
Axis 1. Payout structure. FPPS, PPS+, PPLNS, TIDES, SOLO. Determines variance, predictability, and effective fee. A 2.5% PPS+ pool can produce more revenue than a 0% PPLNS pool depending on block luck.
Axis 2. Centralization risk. What percentage of network hashrate does this pool control? Larger pools find blocks more consistently (lower variance) but raise the censorship and concentration risk that Bitcoin's security model depends on avoiding.
Axis 3. Transparency. Stratum V2 support, DATUM protocol, custodial vs non-custodial payouts. Who picks transactions for blocks you mine? Who holds your BTC between block-finding and payout?
Axis 4. Operational reliability. Uptime, payout cadence, dispute history, geographic server distribution, support responsiveness. Pool variance versus actual block-finding consistency.
Different operator profiles weight these axes differently. A home miner with 1-3 ASICs cares heavily about Axis 1 (low minimum payout) and somewhat about Axis 3 (decentralization values). A 50-unit hosted operator cares heavily about Axis 4 (reliability) and somewhat about Axis 1 (cash flow predictability for hosting bills). A decentralization-focused miner cares heavily about Axes 2 and 3 (network health) and accepts higher variance on Axis 1.
Axis 1: Payout structures (FPPS, PPS+, PPLNS, TIDES, SOLO)
Five payout structures dominate Bitcoin mining pools in 2026. Understanding the difference between them is the foundation of pool selection because the structure determines whether your daily revenue is smooth and predictable or lumpy and luck-dependent.
FPPS (Full Pay Per Share)
The pool pays a fixed amount per valid share submitted, including both the block subsidy share and a calculated transaction fee share. The pool absorbs all variance from block discovery luck. Predictable daily revenue, regardless of whether the pool finds many blocks or few during your hashrate contribution window. Higher fees (typically 2-4 percent) compensate the pool for absorbing variance. Used by Foundry USA (0% listed but takes transaction fees as compensation), AntPool (FPPS option up to 4%), F2Pool, ViaBTC FPPS option, MARA Pool, Braiins Pool (2% FPPS), Luxor, Binance Pool, SBI Crypto, EMCD.
PPS+ (Pay Per Share Plus)
Similar to FPPS but the pool pays the block subsidy on a fixed-share basis while distributing transaction fees on a separate proportional basis. Slightly more variance than FPPS on the transaction fee side because fees fluctuate per block. Lower headline fees than FPPS at most pools. Used as the primary structure at F2Pool and ViaBTC.
PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares)
Miners only get paid when the pool actually finds a block. Rewards are distributed proportionally among recent contributors based on the most recent N shares submitted. High variance: a hot streak of pool blocks produces large payouts, a cold streak produces nothing. Lowest fees because the miners absorb all variance. AntPool offers PPLNS at 0% fee. Braiins Pool offers PPLNS at 0% fee. ViaBTC offers PPLNS at 2% fee. PPLNS is the structurally honest payout method that traces back to Bitcoin's earliest mining pool design, but it is not for operators who need predictable cash flow to cover hosting bills.
TIDES (Transparent Index of Distribution Equitable Shares)
Ocean's proprietary payout structure, similar to PPLNS in that it pays only when blocks are found, but engineered for full transparency. Miners can verify their share contributions and resulting reward calculations on-chain through the coinbase transaction itself. Non-custodial: rewards flow directly to miner addresses from the block reward, never passing through Ocean's wallet. Used exclusively by Ocean.
SOLO mining
Not a pool in the traditional sense. The miner submits hashes to a coordinating server but if the miner finds a block, the miner keeps the entire reward (3.125 BTC + transaction fees) minus a 2 percent service fee. Lottery economics. Solo CKPool is the dominant solo mining service. Per Bitcoin Core developer Dr. Con Kolivas's service tracking, "in 2025-2026, over 22 solo miners successfully found blocks through the service" (a small number relative to network blocks but real lottery wins). Reasonable only for hobby miners who want the dream of full block reward and accept years of zero revenue between potential wins.
Practical implication: FPPS and PPS+ smooth your revenue line. PPLNS and TIDES amplify it (higher variance both ways). For miners with rent, electricity bills, or hosting fees that need to be paid on a regular schedule, FPPS or PPS+ is structurally correct. For miners with cash buffers and patience for variance, PPLNS at 0% fee is mathematically equivalent in expected value but with better cost of capital.
Axis 2: Centralization risk and the Foundry/AntPool problem
Per Hashrate Index's pool tracking, as of April 2026 Foundry USA controls approximately 30 percent of network hashrate and AntPool controls approximately 18 percent. Combined, two organizations direct the block template construction for over half of every Bitcoin block. This is the centralization problem that decentralization-focused pools and protocols like Stratum V2 exist to address.
Why this matters mechanically: under Stratum V1 (the legacy mining protocol used by most pools), the pool constructs the block template. The pool decides which transactions to include in each block, in what order. The miner receives this template and hashes against it without input. The miner has zero say in the content of the block their hashrate is helping to confirm. If a pool wanted to censor specific transactions, by excluding addresses on a sanctions list, excluding transactions from a particular service, or prioritizing transactions paying kickbacks, the miners pointed at that pool would be unknowing accomplices.
The fact that Foundry and AntPool have not engaged in egregious censorship to date is not a security model. It is a snapshot of current behavior. Bitcoin's long-term censorship resistance depends on the structural impossibility of censorship, not the goodwill of any pool operator. Per Hashrate Index's 2026 analysis: "Foundry USA Pool and AntPool consistently held the largest shares of Bitcoin's global hashrate. This concentration creates a chokepoint that potentially threatens Bitcoin's censorship resistance."
Practical implication: every hash pointed at Foundry or AntPool is a vote for the current concentration. Every hash pointed at Braiins, Ocean, Luxor, EMCD, or any smaller pool is a vote for distributed block template construction. For operators who care about Bitcoin's long-term security model, pool selection is also a network policy decision.
Axis 3: Transparency, Stratum V2, DATUM, and what they actually solve
Stratum V2 is the next-generation mining communication protocol developed by Braiins and Bitcoin Core developer Matt Corallo. Per the Stratum V2 Reference Implementation working group, it adds three improvements over Stratum V1: end-to-end encryption between miner and pool, more efficient binary data transfer (vs JSON), and most importantly, a job declaration sub-protocol that lets miners construct their own block templates. A miner running a Bitcoin full node can select transactions from its own mempool and propose that template to the pool. The pool finds the block; the miner picks the contents.
As of May 2026, Stratum V2 adoption remains limited but accelerating. Braiins Pool offers full native SV2 support (they co-developed it). DEMAND Pool was built natively on SV2. Luxor is V2-ready but waiting on firmware ecosystem. Foundry USA is testing V2. Most other major pools (AntPool, F2Pool, ViaBTC) do not yet support V2. Per Bitcoin Core v30 release notes (October 2025): "Bitcoin Core v30 added experimental SV2 support, signaling that the broader Bitcoin development community considers V2 adoption important." Approximately 15-20 percent of network hashrate currently uses Stratum V2 in some form.
DATUM (Decentralized Alternative Templates for Universal Mining) is Ocean's proprietary protocol that achieves similar goals to Stratum V2 but through a different technical approach. Per Blockspace media's technical analysis: "with DATUM, the miner has full control over the block template. The mining pool has no ability to deny a miner's template since miners only share merkle branches with the pool and not specific transactions." Ocean miners running DATUM also receive a 50 percent discount on pool fees (1% instead of 2%). DATUM requires the miner to run a Bitcoin full node and the DATUM gateway software. Higher operational complexity than standard SV2, more rigorous censorship resistance.
Custody is the third transparency dimension. Most pools are custodial: the pool collects the block reward into its own wallet, then distributes to miners on a schedule (daily, weekly, threshold-based). The miner has counterparty risk during the holding window. Ocean is the only fully non-custodial major pool: rewards are paid directly from the coinbase transaction of every block to miner addresses, never passing through Ocean's control. Per Ocean's documentation: "OCEAN structures the coinbase transaction so that miners are paid directly. If the pool goes offline or faces legal issues, your Bitcoin was never in their custody."
Axis 4: Operational reliability
The fourth axis is the hardest to score from outside because it requires operating at the pool through good and bad periods. The proxies that work for new pool selection: years in operation (longevity correlates with stability), public dispute history (any high-profile payout failures, hacks, regulatory issues?), geographic server distribution (multiple stratum endpoints reduce failure risk), and payout cadence transparency (clear thresholds and timing on the official site).
Across our 30,000+ hosted miner fleet, the pools that have produced zero unresolved operational issues over the past 24 months are F2Pool, Foundry USA, Braiins Pool, ViaBTC, and AntPool. The pools where we have seen recoverable but notable issues (delayed payouts, regional server outages, dashboard reporting bugs that resolved within 48 hours): Luxor, EMCD, Binance Pool. The pool with the shortest operational history but strongest technical execution to date: Ocean (founded November 2023). The pool that no longer exists despite once holding meaningful hashrate share: Poolin (suspended payouts in September 2022 amid liquidity issues, never fully recovered). The Poolin precedent matters because it demonstrates that pool selection has counterparty risk regardless of size.
For operators making first-time pool decisions, the practical reliability heuristic: choose a pool with at least 3 years of continuous operation, public ownership/leadership transparency, and at least two geographic stratum endpoints. F2Pool, Foundry, AntPool, Braiins, and ViaBTC all clear this bar comfortably. Newer pools (Ocean, EMCD) clear it on technical execution but lack the long operational history.
The 11-pool comparison matrix
Axis 1. Payout structure. FPPS, PPS+, PPLNS, TIDES, SOLO. Determines variance, predictability, and effective fee. A 2.5% PPS+ pool can produce more revenue than a 0% PPLNS pool depending on block luck.
Axis 2. Centralization risk. What percentage of network hashrate does this pool control? Larger pools find blocks more consistently (lower variance) but raise the censorship and concentration risk that Bitcoin's security model depends on avoiding.
Axis 3. Transparency. Stratum V2 support, DATUM protocol, custodial vs non-custodial payouts. Who picks transactions for blocks you mine? Who holds your BTC between block-finding and payout?
Axis 4. Operational reliability. Uptime, payout cadence, dispute history, geographic server distribution, support responsiveness. Pool variance versus actual block-finding consistency.
Different operator profiles weight these axes differently. A home miner with 1-3 ASICs cares heavily about Axis 1 (low minimum payout) and somewhat about Axis 3 (decentralization values). A 50-unit hosted operator cares heavily about Axis 4 (reliability) and somewhat about Axis 1 (cash flow predictability for hosting bills). A decentralization-focused miner cares heavily about Axes 2 and 3 (network health) and accepts higher variance on Axis 1.
Axis 1: Payout structures (FPPS, PPS+, PPLNS, TIDES, SOLO)
Five payout structures dominate Bitcoin mining pools in 2026. Understanding the difference between them is the foundation of pool selection because the structure determines whether your daily revenue is smooth and predictable or lumpy and luck-dependent.
FPPS (Full Pay Per Share)
The pool pays a fixed amount per valid share submitted, including both the block subsidy share and a calculated transaction fee share. The pool absorbs all variance from block discovery luck. Predictable daily revenue, regardless of whether the pool finds many blocks or few during your hashrate contribution window. Higher fees (typically 2-4 percent) compensate the pool for absorbing variance. Used by Foundry USA (0% listed but takes transaction fees as compensation), AntPool (FPPS option up to 4%), F2Pool, ViaBTC FPPS option, MARA Pool, Braiins Pool (2% FPPS), Luxor, Binance Pool, SBI Crypto, EMCD.
PPS+ (Pay Per Share Plus)
Similar to FPPS but the pool pays the block subsidy on a fixed-share basis while distributing transaction fees on a separate proportional basis. Slightly more variance than FPPS on the transaction fee side because fees fluctuate per block. Lower headline fees than FPPS at most pools. Used as the primary structure at F2Pool and ViaBTC.
PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares)
Miners only get paid when the pool actually finds a block. Rewards are distributed proportionally among recent contributors based on the most recent N shares submitted. High variance: a hot streak of pool blocks produces large payouts, a cold streak produces nothing. Lowest fees because the miners absorb all variance. AntPool offers PPLNS at 0% fee. Braiins Pool offers PPLNS at 0% fee. ViaBTC offers PPLNS at 2% fee. PPLNS is the structurally honest payout method that traces back to Bitcoin's earliest mining pool design, but it is not for operators who need predictable cash flow to cover hosting bills.
TIDES (Transparent Index of Distribution Equitable Shares)
Ocean's proprietary payout structure, similar to PPLNS in that it pays only when blocks are found, but engineered for full transparency. Miners can verify their share contributions and resulting reward calculations on-chain through the coinbase transaction itself. Non-custodial: rewards flow directly to miner addresses from the block reward, never passing through Ocean's wallet. Used exclusively by Ocean.
SOLO mining
Not a pool in the traditional sense. The miner submits hashes to a coordinating server but if the miner finds a block, the miner keeps the entire reward (3.125 BTC + transaction fees) minus a 2 percent service fee. Lottery economics. Solo CKPool is the dominant solo mining service. Per Bitcoin Core developer Dr. Con Kolivas's service tracking, "in 2025-2026, over 22 solo miners successfully found blocks through the service" (a small number relative to network blocks but real lottery wins). Reasonable only for hobby miners who want the dream of full block reward and accept years of zero revenue between potential wins.
Practical implication: FPPS and PPS+ smooth your revenue line. PPLNS and TIDES amplify it (higher variance both ways). For miners with rent, electricity bills, or hosting fees that need to be paid on a regular schedule, FPPS or PPS+ is structurally correct. For miners with cash buffers and patience for variance, PPLNS at 0% fee is mathematically equivalent in expected value but with better cost of capital.
Axis 2: Centralization risk and the Foundry/AntPool problem
Per Hashrate Index's pool tracking, as of April 2026 Foundry USA controls approximately 30 percent of network hashrate and AntPool controls approximately 18 percent. Combined, two organizations direct the block template construction for over half of every Bitcoin block. This is the centralization problem that decentralization-focused pools and protocols like Stratum V2 exist to address.
Why this matters mechanically: under Stratum V1 (the legacy mining protocol used by most pools), the pool constructs the block template. The pool decides which transactions to include in each block, in what order. The miner receives this template and hashes against it without input. The miner has zero say in the content of the block their hashrate is helping to confirm. If a pool wanted to censor specific transactions, by excluding addresses on a sanctions list, excluding transactions from a particular service, or prioritizing transactions paying kickbacks, the miners pointed at that pool would be unknowing accomplices.
The fact that Foundry and AntPool have not engaged in egregious censorship to date is not a security model. It is a snapshot of current behavior. Bitcoin's long-term censorship resistance depends on the structural impossibility of censorship, not the goodwill of any pool operator. Per Hashrate Index's 2026 analysis: "Foundry USA Pool and AntPool consistently held the largest shares of Bitcoin's global hashrate. This concentration creates a chokepoint that potentially threatens Bitcoin's censorship resistance."
Practical implication: every hash pointed at Foundry or AntPool is a vote for the current concentration. Every hash pointed at Braiins, Ocean, Luxor, EMCD, or any smaller pool is a vote for distributed block template construction. For operators who care about Bitcoin's long-term security model, pool selection is also a network policy decision.
Axis 3: Transparency, Stratum V2, DATUM, and what they actually solve
Stratum V2 is the next-generation mining communication protocol developed by Braiins and Bitcoin Core developer Matt Corallo. Per the Stratum V2 Reference Implementation working group, it adds three improvements over Stratum V1: end-to-end encryption between miner and pool, more efficient binary data transfer (vs JSON), and most importantly, a job declaration sub-protocol that lets miners construct their own block templates. A miner running a Bitcoin full node can select transactions from its own mempool and propose that template to the pool. The pool finds the block; the miner picks the contents.
As of May 2026, Stratum V2 adoption remains limited but accelerating. Braiins Pool offers full native SV2 support (they co-developed it). DEMAND Pool was built natively on SV2. Luxor is V2-ready but waiting on firmware ecosystem. Foundry USA is testing V2. Most other major pools (AntPool, F2Pool, ViaBTC) do not yet support V2. Per Bitcoin Core v30 release notes (October 2025): "Bitcoin Core v30 added experimental SV2 support, signaling that the broader Bitcoin development community considers V2 adoption important." Approximately 15-20 percent of network hashrate currently uses Stratum V2 in some form.
DATUM (Decentralized Alternative Templates for Universal Mining) is Ocean's proprietary protocol that achieves similar goals to Stratum V2 but through a different technical approach. Per Blockspace media's technical analysis: "with DATUM, the miner has full control over the block template. The mining pool has no ability to deny a miner's template since miners only share merkle branches with the pool and not specific transactions." Ocean miners running DATUM also receive a 50 percent discount on pool fees (1% instead of 2%). DATUM requires the miner to run a Bitcoin full node and the DATUM gateway software. Higher operational complexity than standard SV2, more rigorous censorship resistance.
Custody is the third transparency dimension. Most pools are custodial: the pool collects the block reward into its own wallet, then distributes to miners on a schedule (daily, weekly, threshold-based). The miner has counterparty risk during the holding window. Ocean is the only fully non-custodial major pool: rewards are paid directly from the coinbase transaction of every block to miner addresses, never passing through Ocean's control. Per Ocean's documentation: "OCEAN structures the coinbase transaction so that miners are paid directly. If the pool goes offline or faces legal issues, your Bitcoin was never in their custody."
Axis 4: Operational reliability
The fourth axis is the hardest to score from outside because it requires operating at the pool through good and bad periods. The proxies that work for new pool selection: years in operation (longevity correlates with stability), public dispute history (any high-profile payout failures, hacks, regulatory issues?), geographic server distribution (multiple stratum endpoints reduce failure risk), and payout cadence transparency (clear thresholds and timing on the official site).
Across our 30,000+ hosted miner fleet, the pools that have produced zero unresolved operational issues over the past 24 months are F2Pool, Foundry USA, Braiins Pool, ViaBTC, and AntPool. The pools where we have seen recoverable but notable issues (delayed payouts, regional server outages, dashboard reporting bugs that resolved within 48 hours): Luxor, EMCD, Binance Pool. The pool with the shortest operational history but strongest technical execution to date: Ocean (founded November 2023). The pool that no longer exists despite once holding meaningful hashrate share: Poolin (suspended payouts in September 2022 amid liquidity issues, never fully recovered). The Poolin precedent matters because it demonstrates that pool selection has counterparty risk regardless of size.
For operators making first-time pool decisions, the practical reliability heuristic: choose a pool with at least 3 years of continuous operation, public ownership/leadership transparency, and at least two geographic stratum endpoints. F2Pool, Foundry, AntPool, Braiins, and ViaBTC all clear this bar comfortably. Newer pools (Ocean, EMCD) clear it on technical execution but lack the long operational history.
The 11-pool comparison matrix
The matrix above is the canonical reference for the rest of this piece. The four sections that follow walk through each tier: the Big Two, the Established Three, the Decentralization Camp, and the Specialists. Each pool gets a focused profile covering what makes it distinctive, who it serves, and where it fits in the buyer-profile decision matrix at the end.
The Big Two: Foundry USA and AntPool
Foundry USA Pool (~30% network share)
A subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, Foundry is the largest Bitcoin mining pool by hashrate share as of 2026. Per Hashrate Index's 2026 pool report: "its dominance is driven by institutional alignment, compliance-first operations, and deep relationships with North American miners and hosting providers." Foundry operates as institutional-only with KYC-gated onboarding. The headline 0% fee is misleading: Foundry takes transaction fees as compensation, which produces an effective fee competitive with mid-2% pools at most market conditions.
Best fit: large public miners (MARA, CleanSpark, Riot run hashrate at Foundry directly), institutional hosting operations, US-based facilities prioritizing regulatory clarity. Worst fit: home miners (KYC requirement), decentralization-focused operators, anyone outside the institutional cohort. Foundry is testing Stratum V2 support but does not yet offer it in production.
AntPool (~18% network share)
Operated by Bitmain, AntPool is the default pool for many Antminer customers because new units ship pointed at AntPool. Long operational history dating to 2014. Offers both FPPS (up to 4% fee) and PPLNS (0% fee), which is the most flexible payout offering among the major pools. KYC is technically optional but increasingly enforced for higher-value accounts.
Best fit: Antminer-heavy fleets (firmware integration is tighter than third-party pools), variance-tolerant miners who want the 0% PPLNS option. Worst fit: operators concerned about Bitmain's combined hardware-and-pool market position, decentralization-focused miners.
The Established Three: F2Pool, ViaBTC, MARA Pool
F2Pool (10.41% network share)
Founded in 2013 by a developer known as Discus Fish, F2Pool is one of the longest-running mining pools in the industry. Supports 40+ cryptocurrencies. Mature operational infrastructure. Public, readable fee structure (PPS+ at approximately 2.5%). Global server distribution across Asia, Europe, and North America. The cleanest mid-tier pool for operators who want size, transparency, and beginner-friendly setup. Our F2Pool setup walkthrough covers the registration and worker configuration steps.
Best fit: home miners and mid-scale operators (5-49 units), operators who want a single pool for both Bitcoin and altcoin mining, beginners who need clear documentation. Worst fit: operators prioritizing the lowest possible fee, decentralization-focused miners (no Stratum V2).
ViaBTC (~10% network share)
Founded in 2016 by Haipo Yang and originally backed by Bitmain. Approximately 115 EH/s of pooled hashrate. Strong beginner-friendly UI, fast payouts, low minimum payout threshold (0.0001 BTC). Multiple payout structures including PPS+ and PPLNS. Particular regional strength in Russia and Eastern Europe. Supports merged mining for LTC + DOGE alongside Bitcoin pools, which makes ViaBTC convenient for operators running mixed Bitcoin + Scrypt fleets (covered in detail in our Litecoin and Dogecoin merged mining piece).
Best fit: retail and mid-scale miners (5-49 units) who want a clean dashboard and predictable PPS+ payouts, multi-coin operators. Worst fit: operators prioritizing decentralization, large institutional fleets that prefer Foundry's institutional positioning.
MARA Pool (4.84% network share)
MARA Holdings' captive pool, created primarily to handle the publicly-listed mining company's own fleet. Limited external miner participation. Operates as effectively a single-corporate-entity pool, which raises a different kind of centralization question (concentration in a public company's hands rather than in a generic pool operator's hands). MARA Pool exists in the matrix because of its meaningful hashrate share, but it is not a relevant choice for retail or mid-scale operators.
The Decentralization Camp: Braiins Pool and Ocean
Braiins Pool (1.45% network share)
Originally launched as Slush Pool in 2010 by Marek "Slush" Palatinus, Braiins is the first Bitcoin mining pool ever created. It has operated continuously for over 15 years, longer than every other pool currently in operation. Renamed Braiins Pool in 2022 alongside the Braiins OS+ firmware brand. Co-developed Stratum V2 alongside Bitcoin Core developer Matt Corallo. Offers FPPS at 2% fee or PPLNS at 0% fee. Lightning Network payouts available with no minimum threshold (the first pool to offer this, launched February 2024).
Per Braiins Pool documentation: "miners running Braiins OS+ get deep integration with the pool, including automatic configuration, detailed per-device analytics, and optimized Stratum V2 connections." This hardware-to-pool integration is unique in the industry and a meaningful differentiator for operators willing to flash custom firmware. Best fit: home miners (Lightning payouts solve the dust problem), decentralization-focused operators (full SV2 support), Braiins OS+ users. Worst fit: institutional operators who need maximum scale, FPPS-only operations.
Ocean (~1.45% network share)
Founded November 2023 by Luke Dashjr (one of the longest-serving Bitcoin Core developers) and Bitcoin Mechanic, with a $6.2 million seed round led by Jack Dorsey's Block. Ocean is the spiritual successor to Eligius, an early Bitcoin mining pool also created by Dashjr in 2011. Built on a single radical premise: miners, not pools, should decide what goes into blocks.
Three structural features differentiate Ocean from every other pool: non-custodial payouts (rewards flow directly from coinbase transactions to miner addresses), TIDES payout structure (transparent on-chain accounting), and DATUM protocol support (miners construct their own block templates). DATUM users get a 50 percent fee discount (1% vs 2%). The trade-off is operational complexity: DATUM requires the miner to run a full Bitcoin node and the DATUM gateway software.
Best fit: ideologically-aligned miners who care about Bitcoin's decentralization mission, technically-capable operators willing to run a full node, hashrate splitting strategies (covered below). Worst fit: operators who need predictable cash flow (TIDES has higher variance than FPPS), operators without the technical capacity for DATUM setup.
The Specialists: Luxor, Binance Pool, SBI Crypto, EMCD
Luxor (2.42% network share)
North American-headquartered pool with SOC 2 certification (a meaningful compliance signal that no other pool currently has). Parent company of Hashrate Index, the canonical pool data tracker. Clean dashboard, daily payouts, FPPS at 0% pool fee or 0.7% depending on tier. Stratum V2 is "ready" but not yet shipped due to firmware ecosystem dependencies. Best fit: operators prioritizing North American server proximity and regulatory transparency, mid-scale operators who value clean operational tooling.
Binance Pool (1.94% network share)
Mined BTC is credited directly to the operator's Binance exchange account, which makes immediate trading or conversion to fiat trivial. KYC required (Binance KYC standards apply). Best fit: operators who actively trade their mined BTC and want the lowest possible friction between mining and trading. Worst fit: operators who prefer self-custody of mined coins.
SBI Crypto (1.69% network share)
Backed by SBI Holdings (Japan), one of the largest financial services companies in Asia. Institutional-grade compliance, Asia regional focus. KYC required. Best fit: institutional operators with Asia Pacific operations, Japan-based facilities. Effectively the SBI-affiliated equivalent of Foundry's North American institutional positioning.
EMCD (~1% network share)
Eastern Europe-focused pool, ranked among the top 10 BTC pools globally. 35,000+ active miners, 400,000+ ecosystem users, over 30,000 BTC mined since launch. Distinctive feature: integrated wallet ecosystem with zero-fee P2P trading and yield-bearing BTC savings. Supports BTC plus 10+ other PoW coins (LTC, DOGE, ETC, KAS, etc.). Lower fee at approximately 1.5% FPPS. Best fit: Eastern European operators, operators who want an integrated mining-and-wallet experience, multi-coin miners. Worst fit: operators prioritizing maximum decentralization (no Stratum V2 support) or operators who prefer separating their pool from their wallet for security.
The buyer-profile decision matrix
The Big Two: Foundry USA and AntPool
Foundry USA Pool (~30% network share)
A subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, Foundry is the largest Bitcoin mining pool by hashrate share as of 2026. Per Hashrate Index's 2026 pool report: "its dominance is driven by institutional alignment, compliance-first operations, and deep relationships with North American miners and hosting providers." Foundry operates as institutional-only with KYC-gated onboarding. The headline 0% fee is misleading: Foundry takes transaction fees as compensation, which produces an effective fee competitive with mid-2% pools at most market conditions.
Best fit: large public miners (MARA, CleanSpark, Riot run hashrate at Foundry directly), institutional hosting operations, US-based facilities prioritizing regulatory clarity. Worst fit: home miners (KYC requirement), decentralization-focused operators, anyone outside the institutional cohort. Foundry is testing Stratum V2 support but does not yet offer it in production.
AntPool (~18% network share)
Operated by Bitmain, AntPool is the default pool for many Antminer customers because new units ship pointed at AntPool. Long operational history dating to 2014. Offers both FPPS (up to 4% fee) and PPLNS (0% fee), which is the most flexible payout offering among the major pools. KYC is technically optional but increasingly enforced for higher-value accounts.
Best fit: Antminer-heavy fleets (firmware integration is tighter than third-party pools), variance-tolerant miners who want the 0% PPLNS option. Worst fit: operators concerned about Bitmain's combined hardware-and-pool market position, decentralization-focused miners.
The Established Three: F2Pool, ViaBTC, MARA Pool
F2Pool (10.41% network share)
Founded in 2013 by a developer known as Discus Fish, F2Pool is one of the longest-running mining pools in the industry. Supports 40+ cryptocurrencies. Mature operational infrastructure. Public, readable fee structure (PPS+ at approximately 2.5%). Global server distribution across Asia, Europe, and North America. The cleanest mid-tier pool for operators who want size, transparency, and beginner-friendly setup. Our F2Pool setup walkthrough covers the registration and worker configuration steps.
Best fit: home miners and mid-scale operators (5-49 units), operators who want a single pool for both Bitcoin and altcoin mining, beginners who need clear documentation. Worst fit: operators prioritizing the lowest possible fee, decentralization-focused miners (no Stratum V2).
ViaBTC (~10% network share)
Founded in 2016 by Haipo Yang and originally backed by Bitmain. Approximately 115 EH/s of pooled hashrate. Strong beginner-friendly UI, fast payouts, low minimum payout threshold (0.0001 BTC). Multiple payout structures including PPS+ and PPLNS. Particular regional strength in Russia and Eastern Europe. Supports merged mining for LTC + DOGE alongside Bitcoin pools, which makes ViaBTC convenient for operators running mixed Bitcoin + Scrypt fleets (covered in detail in our Litecoin and Dogecoin merged mining piece).
Best fit: retail and mid-scale miners (5-49 units) who want a clean dashboard and predictable PPS+ payouts, multi-coin operators. Worst fit: operators prioritizing decentralization, large institutional fleets that prefer Foundry's institutional positioning.
MARA Pool (4.84% network share)
MARA Holdings' captive pool, created primarily to handle the publicly-listed mining company's own fleet. Limited external miner participation. Operates as effectively a single-corporate-entity pool, which raises a different kind of centralization question (concentration in a public company's hands rather than in a generic pool operator's hands). MARA Pool exists in the matrix because of its meaningful hashrate share, but it is not a relevant choice for retail or mid-scale operators.
The Decentralization Camp: Braiins Pool and Ocean
Braiins Pool (1.45% network share)
Originally launched as Slush Pool in 2010 by Marek "Slush" Palatinus, Braiins is the first Bitcoin mining pool ever created. It has operated continuously for over 15 years, longer than every other pool currently in operation. Renamed Braiins Pool in 2022 alongside the Braiins OS+ firmware brand. Co-developed Stratum V2 alongside Bitcoin Core developer Matt Corallo. Offers FPPS at 2% fee or PPLNS at 0% fee. Lightning Network payouts available with no minimum threshold (the first pool to offer this, launched February 2024).
Per Braiins Pool documentation: "miners running Braiins OS+ get deep integration with the pool, including automatic configuration, detailed per-device analytics, and optimized Stratum V2 connections." This hardware-to-pool integration is unique in the industry and a meaningful differentiator for operators willing to flash custom firmware. Best fit: home miners (Lightning payouts solve the dust problem), decentralization-focused operators (full SV2 support), Braiins OS+ users. Worst fit: institutional operators who need maximum scale, FPPS-only operations.
Ocean (~1.45% network share)
Founded November 2023 by Luke Dashjr (one of the longest-serving Bitcoin Core developers) and Bitcoin Mechanic, with a $6.2 million seed round led by Jack Dorsey's Block. Ocean is the spiritual successor to Eligius, an early Bitcoin mining pool also created by Dashjr in 2011. Built on a single radical premise: miners, not pools, should decide what goes into blocks.
Three structural features differentiate Ocean from every other pool: non-custodial payouts (rewards flow directly from coinbase transactions to miner addresses), TIDES payout structure (transparent on-chain accounting), and DATUM protocol support (miners construct their own block templates). DATUM users get a 50 percent fee discount (1% vs 2%). The trade-off is operational complexity: DATUM requires the miner to run a full Bitcoin node and the DATUM gateway software.
Best fit: ideologically-aligned miners who care about Bitcoin's decentralization mission, technically-capable operators willing to run a full node, hashrate splitting strategies (covered below). Worst fit: operators who need predictable cash flow (TIDES has higher variance than FPPS), operators without the technical capacity for DATUM setup.
The Specialists: Luxor, Binance Pool, SBI Crypto, EMCD
Luxor (2.42% network share)
North American-headquartered pool with SOC 2 certification (a meaningful compliance signal that no other pool currently has). Parent company of Hashrate Index, the canonical pool data tracker. Clean dashboard, daily payouts, FPPS at 0% pool fee or 0.7% depending on tier. Stratum V2 is "ready" but not yet shipped due to firmware ecosystem dependencies. Best fit: operators prioritizing North American server proximity and regulatory transparency, mid-scale operators who value clean operational tooling.
Binance Pool (1.94% network share)
Mined BTC is credited directly to the operator's Binance exchange account, which makes immediate trading or conversion to fiat trivial. KYC required (Binance KYC standards apply). Best fit: operators who actively trade their mined BTC and want the lowest possible friction between mining and trading. Worst fit: operators who prefer self-custody of mined coins.
SBI Crypto (1.69% network share)
Backed by SBI Holdings (Japan), one of the largest financial services companies in Asia. Institutional-grade compliance, Asia regional focus. KYC required. Best fit: institutional operators with Asia Pacific operations, Japan-based facilities. Effectively the SBI-affiliated equivalent of Foundry's North American institutional positioning.
EMCD (~1% network share)
Eastern Europe-focused pool, ranked among the top 10 BTC pools globally. 35,000+ active miners, 400,000+ ecosystem users, over 30,000 BTC mined since launch. Distinctive feature: integrated wallet ecosystem with zero-fee P2P trading and yield-bearing BTC savings. Supports BTC plus 10+ other PoW coins (LTC, DOGE, ETC, KAS, etc.). Lower fee at approximately 1.5% FPPS. Best fit: Eastern European operators, operators who want an integrated mining-and-wallet experience, multi-coin miners. Worst fit: operators prioritizing maximum decentralization (no Stratum V2 support) or operators who prefer separating their pool from their wallet for security.
The buyer-profile decision matrix
Four profiles cover the meaningful operator segments. Pick the one closest to your situation. The primary recommendation is the pool you point most of your hashrate at. The backup is the secondary pool you configure as a failover endpoint in case the primary has an outage. Stratum protocol supports automatic failover; configuring both takes 5 extra minutes during setup and prevents revenue loss during pool downtime.
Profile 1, home miner with 1-3 ASICs: Braiins Pool primary (FPPS or PPLNS), F2Pool backup. Lightning payouts at Braiins eliminate the dust accumulation problem when your daily revenue is 0.0001-0.001 BTC. The 0% PPLNS option is mathematically equivalent in expected value to a 2-3% FPPS pool but with better cost of capital for variance-tolerant miners. F2Pool backup adds size for steadier baseline payouts during Braiins' less productive luck windows.
Profile 2, mid-scale operator with 5-49 hosted units: F2Pool or ViaBTC primary (PPS+), AntPool backup (FPPS). PPS+ smooths cash flow needed for monthly hosting bills (covered in our hosting cost breakdown). F2Pool's 13-year track record and ViaBTC's beginner-friendly UI both work well at this scale. AntPool backup is universal Antminer compatibility, so if your fleet is mostly Antminers, AntPool can be configured as failover with zero firmware changes.
Profile 3, large-scale institutional operator with 50+ units: Foundry USA primary (FPPS), Luxor backup (FPPS). At this scale, the lowest variance produces the best cash flow predictability for facility operations because Foundry is the largest pool by hashrate share, which mathematically produces the lowest variance per unit of contributed hashrate. KYC is acceptable at institutional scale. Luxor backup provides SOC 2 compliance redundancy and North American server distribution.
Profile 4, decentralization-focused operator at any scale: Ocean primary (TIDES + DATUM if technically capable), Braiins Pool backup (Stratum V2). Ocean's non-custodial structure plus DATUM's miner-built block templates plus the 50% fee discount for DATUM users produces the strongest decentralization profile available. Braiins backup gives full SV2 support with the longest operational track record in the industry.
THE SPLIT-STACK PATTERN
For operators who want both cash flow predictability and network decentralization contribution, the split-stack pattern is the right answer. Run 70% of hashrate at a large FPPS pool (Foundry, AntPool, F2Pool depending on profile). Direct 30% of hashrate to Ocean or Braiins to support network health. Most ASIC firmware supports configuring multiple stratum endpoints with weighted distribution. Variance smoothing on the majority share, decentralization contribution on the minority share. No single-pool downside. We have not seen this pattern recommended in any other pool comparison content, but it is the structurally correct answer for operators with mixed priorities.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Bitcoin mining pool in 2026?
There is no universally correct answer. The best pool depends on your operator profile, power cost, scale, and values around network decentralization. For most home miners with 1-3 ASICs: Braiins Pool with PPLNS at 0% fee or FPPS at 2%. For mid-scale hosted operators: F2Pool or ViaBTC at PPS+. For large institutional operators: Foundry USA at FPPS. For decentralization-focused miners: Ocean with DATUM. The 4-axis framework (payout, centralization, transparency, reliability) determines which pool fits which situation.
What is the difference between FPPS, PPS+, and PPLNS?
FPPS (Full Pay Per Share) pays a fixed amount per valid share including transaction fees, with the pool absorbing block-finding variance. Predictable revenue, higher fees (typically 2-4 percent). PPS+ pays the block subsidy on a fixed-share basis but distributes transaction fees on a separate proportional basis. Slightly more variance than FPPS, slightly lower fees. PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares) pays only when the pool actually finds a block, distributed proportionally among recent contributors. Highest variance, lowest fees (often 0% at Braiins and AntPool). For predictable cash flow choose FPPS or PPS+. For lowest fees and willingness to accept variance choose PPLNS.
Why is the Foundry/AntPool concentration a problem?
As of May 2026, Foundry USA controls approximately 30 percent of network hashrate and AntPool controls approximately 18 percent, combining for over 51 percent of all blocks mined. Under the Stratum V1 protocol used by both pools, the pool constructs the block template, deciding which transactions to include in each block. Two organizations directing the contents of more than half of every Bitcoin block creates a censorship vector that Bitcoin's long-term security model depends on avoiding. Even without active censorship today, the structural concentration is a network policy concern. Pointing hashrate at Braiins, Ocean, or other smaller pools distributes the block template construction authority across more independent operators.
What is Stratum V2 and why does it matter?
Stratum V2 is the next-generation mining communication protocol developed by Braiins and Bitcoin Core developer Matt Corallo. It adds three improvements over Stratum V1: end-to-end encryption between miner and pool, more efficient binary data transfer, and a job declaration sub-protocol that lets miners construct their own block templates. The job declaration feature is the structurally important one: it shifts the power to choose which transactions go into blocks from a handful of pool operators to thousands of individual miners. As of May 2026, Braiins Pool offers full native SV2 support, Ocean offers DATUM (a parallel approach with the same goals), Luxor is V2-ready, and Foundry is testing. Approximately 15-20 percent of network hashrate currently uses Stratum V2 in some form.
What is Ocean's DATUM protocol?
DATUM (Decentralized Alternative Templates for Universal Mining) is Ocean's proprietary protocol that allows miners to construct their own block templates while still mining through the pool. Per Blockspace media: "with DATUM, miners only share merkle branches with the pool and not specific transactions." This makes pool censorship architecturally impossible rather than just policy-based. DATUM requires the miner to run a Bitcoin full node and the DATUM gateway software. Miners using DATUM also receive a 50 percent discount on Ocean's pool fees (1% instead of 2%). The trade-off versus Stratum V2 is operational complexity: DATUM is more demanding to set up but provides stronger censorship resistance guarantees.
Should I switch from AntPool to a smaller pool?
Depends on your priorities. AntPool produces reliable revenue, integrates cleanly with Antminer firmware, and offers a 0% PPLNS option that is structurally favorable for variance-tolerant miners. The reasons to switch: you care about network decentralization, you want Stratum V2 support (Braiins, Ocean), you prefer non-custodial payouts (Ocean), or you want Lightning payouts with no minimum threshold (Braiins). The reasons to stay: you operate a Bitmain-heavy fleet at scale where AntPool firmware integration matters, or you specifically prefer the 0% PPLNS option without managing the additional setup overhead of Braiins or Ocean. The split-stack pattern (70% AntPool, 30% Ocean or Braiins) lets you keep most of the operational benefits while contributing to decentralization.
How do I switch mining pools?
Pool switching is a configuration change in your ASIC's control panel that takes about 5 minutes. Log in to the miner's web interface (typically at the local IP address, default password "root" or as documented). Navigate to the Miner Configuration or Pool Configuration page. Enter the new pool's stratum URL, your worker username (usually pool_account.worker_name), and password (often "x" or anything depending on the pool). Save and restart. The miner will begin submitting shares to the new pool within 60-120 seconds. Keep your previous pool configured as a backup endpoint to enable automatic failover during outages.
What is the lowest fee Bitcoin mining pool?
On headline fees: AntPool offers PPLNS at 0% pool fee. Braiins Pool offers PPLNS at 0% pool fee. Foundry USA lists 0% FPPS but takes transaction fees as compensation. The lowest absolute fee path for a variance-tolerant miner is PPLNS at AntPool or Braiins. The lowest effective fee depends on your hashrate, the pool's block luck during your contribution window, and how transaction fees flow through. PPS+ pools at 2-2.5% (F2Pool, ViaBTC) often produce comparable or higher net revenue than 0% PPLNS pools during average market conditions because the variance compensation built into the fee covers your real-world expected revenue. Lowest fee is not always highest expected revenue.
Can I mine to multiple pools at the same time?
Yes. Most ASIC firmware supports configuring multiple stratum endpoints with weighted distribution. The split-stack pattern uses this: configure your primary pool at 70% weight and a secondary pool at 30% weight, and the firmware will distribute hashrate proportionally. This gives you cash flow smoothing on the majority share and decentralization or fee optimization on the minority share. Some firmware (Braiins OS+, custom builds) handles this automatically. Stock Bitmain firmware supports up to three stratum endpoints but uses them as failover rather than weighted distribution. For genuine load balancing, custom firmware is the cleaner path.
What is the minimum payout threshold at most pools?
Varies significantly. Lightning Network payouts at Braiins Pool and Ocean (BOLT12) have no minimum threshold and process daily. On-chain payouts at most major pools have minimums of 0.001 to 0.01 BTC. F2Pool minimum is 0.005 BTC. ViaBTC minimum is 0.0001 BTC (the lowest among major pools). AntPool minimum is 0.001 BTC. Foundry minimum varies by account tier. For home miners with daily revenue under 0.0001 BTC, Lightning payouts are the only realistic option to avoid dust accumulation in the pool wallet. For mid-scale operators producing 0.001+ BTC daily, on-chain minimums are not a constraint.
What to actually do
Pool selection is a decision most miners make once and revisit rarely. That is reasonable for most operators but it leaves money and network influence on the table. Two practical recommendations to close.
First, audit your current pool against the 4-axis framework. If you are at AntPool because that is where your Antminers shipped pointed, ask whether you have evaluated the alternatives. If you are at Foundry because the institutional positioning made sense at fleet startup, ask whether the same logic applies at your current scale. Pool selection inertia is the most common reason miners stay at suboptimal pools for years. The audit takes 30 minutes; the switch takes 5 minutes per machine.
Second, if you are running 5+ ASICs, consider the split-stack pattern. Run 70 percent of hashrate at the FPPS pool that fits your profile (Foundry for institutional, F2Pool or ViaBTC for mid-scale, Braiins for home). Direct 30 percent to Ocean or Braiins to support network decentralization. The variance smoothing on your majority share covers your operational cash flow. The minority share contributes to Bitcoin's long-term censorship resistance without meaningfully affecting your unit economics. We have not seen this pattern explicitly recommended in any other pool comparison guide, but the math is straightforward and the upside is asymmetric.
For operators who have selected a pool and now need to configure their hardware, our F2Pool setup walkthrough covers the practical configuration steps. The same workflow (stratum URL, worker naming, password convention, first-share verification) applies to any pool with minor URL substitutions. For broader operational context on pre-purchase economics, our cost to mine 1 Bitcoin in 2026 breakdown and best Bitcoin miners 2026 ranking cover the hardware decisions that come before the pool decision. For tax handling of mining income across pool payouts, our Bitcoin mining taxes 2026 guide covers the dual-event tax structure under IRS rules.
The pool you choose is the pool that will direct the contents of every block your hashrate helps confirm. That is a small but real act of network governance. Choose accordingly.
Profile 1, home miner with 1-3 ASICs: Braiins Pool primary (FPPS or PPLNS), F2Pool backup. Lightning payouts at Braiins eliminate the dust accumulation problem when your daily revenue is 0.0001-0.001 BTC. The 0% PPLNS option is mathematically equivalent in expected value to a 2-3% FPPS pool but with better cost of capital for variance-tolerant miners. F2Pool backup adds size for steadier baseline payouts during Braiins' less productive luck windows.
Profile 2, mid-scale operator with 5-49 hosted units: F2Pool or ViaBTC primary (PPS+), AntPool backup (FPPS). PPS+ smooths cash flow needed for monthly hosting bills (covered in our hosting cost breakdown). F2Pool's 13-year track record and ViaBTC's beginner-friendly UI both work well at this scale. AntPool backup is universal Antminer compatibility, so if your fleet is mostly Antminers, AntPool can be configured as failover with zero firmware changes.
Profile 3, large-scale institutional operator with 50+ units: Foundry USA primary (FPPS), Luxor backup (FPPS). At this scale, the lowest variance produces the best cash flow predictability for facility operations because Foundry is the largest pool by hashrate share, which mathematically produces the lowest variance per unit of contributed hashrate. KYC is acceptable at institutional scale. Luxor backup provides SOC 2 compliance redundancy and North American server distribution.
Profile 4, decentralization-focused operator at any scale: Ocean primary (TIDES + DATUM if technically capable), Braiins Pool backup (Stratum V2). Ocean's non-custodial structure plus DATUM's miner-built block templates plus the 50% fee discount for DATUM users produces the strongest decentralization profile available. Braiins backup gives full SV2 support with the longest operational track record in the industry.
THE SPLIT-STACK PATTERN
For operators who want both cash flow predictability and network decentralization contribution, the split-stack pattern is the right answer. Run 70% of hashrate at a large FPPS pool (Foundry, AntPool, F2Pool depending on profile). Direct 30% of hashrate to Ocean or Braiins to support network health. Most ASIC firmware supports configuring multiple stratum endpoints with weighted distribution. Variance smoothing on the majority share, decentralization contribution on the minority share. No single-pool downside. We have not seen this pattern recommended in any other pool comparison content, but it is the structurally correct answer for operators with mixed priorities.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Bitcoin mining pool in 2026?
There is no universally correct answer. The best pool depends on your operator profile, power cost, scale, and values around network decentralization. For most home miners with 1-3 ASICs: Braiins Pool with PPLNS at 0% fee or FPPS at 2%. For mid-scale hosted operators: F2Pool or ViaBTC at PPS+. For large institutional operators: Foundry USA at FPPS. For decentralization-focused miners: Ocean with DATUM. The 4-axis framework (payout, centralization, transparency, reliability) determines which pool fits which situation.
What is the difference between FPPS, PPS+, and PPLNS?
FPPS (Full Pay Per Share) pays a fixed amount per valid share including transaction fees, with the pool absorbing block-finding variance. Predictable revenue, higher fees (typically 2-4 percent). PPS+ pays the block subsidy on a fixed-share basis but distributes transaction fees on a separate proportional basis. Slightly more variance than FPPS, slightly lower fees. PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares) pays only when the pool actually finds a block, distributed proportionally among recent contributors. Highest variance, lowest fees (often 0% at Braiins and AntPool). For predictable cash flow choose FPPS or PPS+. For lowest fees and willingness to accept variance choose PPLNS.
Why is the Foundry/AntPool concentration a problem?
As of May 2026, Foundry USA controls approximately 30 percent of network hashrate and AntPool controls approximately 18 percent, combining for over 51 percent of all blocks mined. Under the Stratum V1 protocol used by both pools, the pool constructs the block template, deciding which transactions to include in each block. Two organizations directing the contents of more than half of every Bitcoin block creates a censorship vector that Bitcoin's long-term security model depends on avoiding. Even without active censorship today, the structural concentration is a network policy concern. Pointing hashrate at Braiins, Ocean, or other smaller pools distributes the block template construction authority across more independent operators.
What is Stratum V2 and why does it matter?
Stratum V2 is the next-generation mining communication protocol developed by Braiins and Bitcoin Core developer Matt Corallo. It adds three improvements over Stratum V1: end-to-end encryption between miner and pool, more efficient binary data transfer, and a job declaration sub-protocol that lets miners construct their own block templates. The job declaration feature is the structurally important one: it shifts the power to choose which transactions go into blocks from a handful of pool operators to thousands of individual miners. As of May 2026, Braiins Pool offers full native SV2 support, Ocean offers DATUM (a parallel approach with the same goals), Luxor is V2-ready, and Foundry is testing. Approximately 15-20 percent of network hashrate currently uses Stratum V2 in some form.
What is Ocean's DATUM protocol?
DATUM (Decentralized Alternative Templates for Universal Mining) is Ocean's proprietary protocol that allows miners to construct their own block templates while still mining through the pool. Per Blockspace media: "with DATUM, miners only share merkle branches with the pool and not specific transactions." This makes pool censorship architecturally impossible rather than just policy-based. DATUM requires the miner to run a Bitcoin full node and the DATUM gateway software. Miners using DATUM also receive a 50 percent discount on Ocean's pool fees (1% instead of 2%). The trade-off versus Stratum V2 is operational complexity: DATUM is more demanding to set up but provides stronger censorship resistance guarantees.
Should I switch from AntPool to a smaller pool?
Depends on your priorities. AntPool produces reliable revenue, integrates cleanly with Antminer firmware, and offers a 0% PPLNS option that is structurally favorable for variance-tolerant miners. The reasons to switch: you care about network decentralization, you want Stratum V2 support (Braiins, Ocean), you prefer non-custodial payouts (Ocean), or you want Lightning payouts with no minimum threshold (Braiins). The reasons to stay: you operate a Bitmain-heavy fleet at scale where AntPool firmware integration matters, or you specifically prefer the 0% PPLNS option without managing the additional setup overhead of Braiins or Ocean. The split-stack pattern (70% AntPool, 30% Ocean or Braiins) lets you keep most of the operational benefits while contributing to decentralization.
How do I switch mining pools?
Pool switching is a configuration change in your ASIC's control panel that takes about 5 minutes. Log in to the miner's web interface (typically at the local IP address, default password "root" or as documented). Navigate to the Miner Configuration or Pool Configuration page. Enter the new pool's stratum URL, your worker username (usually pool_account.worker_name), and password (often "x" or anything depending on the pool). Save and restart. The miner will begin submitting shares to the new pool within 60-120 seconds. Keep your previous pool configured as a backup endpoint to enable automatic failover during outages.
What is the lowest fee Bitcoin mining pool?
On headline fees: AntPool offers PPLNS at 0% pool fee. Braiins Pool offers PPLNS at 0% pool fee. Foundry USA lists 0% FPPS but takes transaction fees as compensation. The lowest absolute fee path for a variance-tolerant miner is PPLNS at AntPool or Braiins. The lowest effective fee depends on your hashrate, the pool's block luck during your contribution window, and how transaction fees flow through. PPS+ pools at 2-2.5% (F2Pool, ViaBTC) often produce comparable or higher net revenue than 0% PPLNS pools during average market conditions because the variance compensation built into the fee covers your real-world expected revenue. Lowest fee is not always highest expected revenue.
Can I mine to multiple pools at the same time?
Yes. Most ASIC firmware supports configuring multiple stratum endpoints with weighted distribution. The split-stack pattern uses this: configure your primary pool at 70% weight and a secondary pool at 30% weight, and the firmware will distribute hashrate proportionally. This gives you cash flow smoothing on the majority share and decentralization or fee optimization on the minority share. Some firmware (Braiins OS+, custom builds) handles this automatically. Stock Bitmain firmware supports up to three stratum endpoints but uses them as failover rather than weighted distribution. For genuine load balancing, custom firmware is the cleaner path.
What is the minimum payout threshold at most pools?
Varies significantly. Lightning Network payouts at Braiins Pool and Ocean (BOLT12) have no minimum threshold and process daily. On-chain payouts at most major pools have minimums of 0.001 to 0.01 BTC. F2Pool minimum is 0.005 BTC. ViaBTC minimum is 0.0001 BTC (the lowest among major pools). AntPool minimum is 0.001 BTC. Foundry minimum varies by account tier. For home miners with daily revenue under 0.0001 BTC, Lightning payouts are the only realistic option to avoid dust accumulation in the pool wallet. For mid-scale operators producing 0.001+ BTC daily, on-chain minimums are not a constraint.
What to actually do
Pool selection is a decision most miners make once and revisit rarely. That is reasonable for most operators but it leaves money and network influence on the table. Two practical recommendations to close.
First, audit your current pool against the 4-axis framework. If you are at AntPool because that is where your Antminers shipped pointed, ask whether you have evaluated the alternatives. If you are at Foundry because the institutional positioning made sense at fleet startup, ask whether the same logic applies at your current scale. Pool selection inertia is the most common reason miners stay at suboptimal pools for years. The audit takes 30 minutes; the switch takes 5 minutes per machine.
Second, if you are running 5+ ASICs, consider the split-stack pattern. Run 70 percent of hashrate at the FPPS pool that fits your profile (Foundry for institutional, F2Pool or ViaBTC for mid-scale, Braiins for home). Direct 30 percent to Ocean or Braiins to support network decentralization. The variance smoothing on your majority share covers your operational cash flow. The minority share contributes to Bitcoin's long-term censorship resistance without meaningfully affecting your unit economics. We have not seen this pattern explicitly recommended in any other pool comparison guide, but the math is straightforward and the upside is asymmetric.
For operators who have selected a pool and now need to configure their hardware, our F2Pool setup walkthrough covers the practical configuration steps. The same workflow (stratum URL, worker naming, password convention, first-share verification) applies to any pool with minor URL substitutions. For broader operational context on pre-purchase economics, our cost to mine 1 Bitcoin in 2026 breakdown and best Bitcoin miners 2026 ranking cover the hardware decisions that come before the pool decision. For tax handling of mining income across pool payouts, our Bitcoin mining taxes 2026 guide covers the dual-event tax structure under IRS rules.
The pool you choose is the pool that will direct the contents of every block your hashrate helps confirm. That is a small but real act of network governance. Choose accordingly.
