With the rise of Proof of Work (PoW) projects that support ASIC mining rigs, the majority of miners now prefer to mine through mining pools such as Foundry USA, AntPool, or ViaBTC. ASIC mining rigs have significantly increased the overall network’s hashrate, making it challenging for individual miners with only a few devices to find a block on their own. Mining pools bring together miners from around the world, forming a powerful collective that can quickly mine multiple blocks. Rewards from these blocks are distributed among all participating miners. However, the challenge arises when some miners contribute more devices to the pool than others. How can this unequal contribution be fairly distributed for mining rewards?
To address this issue, over 10 different payment models have emerged in the market since the inception of the first mining pool in 2010. Currently, the most commonly used payment models can be categorized into 5 types: PPS, PPS+, PPLNS, FPPS, and SOLO. Among them, PPS+ and PPLNS are the two most popular models. PPS+ (Pay Per Share+) is a payment model introduced by ViaBTC Pool in August 2016 as an enhancement to the traditional PPS model. Under PPS+, miners receive rewards for each share they submit, regardless of whether the pool successfully mines a block. Additionally, transaction fees are allocated based on the PPLNS model.
PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares) is a payment model where miners’ earnings depend on the valid shares they contribute when the pool mines a block. Miners’ rewards are distributed based on the proportion of shares they submitted within the last N shares. This model is more volatile compared to PPS+, with rewards potentially being higher or lower. ViaBTC’s KAS mining pool now supports the PPS+ payment model, giving miners the option to choose this stable and predictable payment model for their mining activities.
When choosing a payment model, miners must consider their preference for stable income or willingness to take risks for higher returns. PPS+ is suitable for miners seeking a continuous fixed return and stability, while PPLNS is better suited for miners willing to tolerate income fluctuations for potentially higher rewards. Major mining pools such as AntPool, ViaBTC, F2Pool, Binance Pool, and EMCDPool offer different payment models for miners to choose from. ViaBTC, a world-leading mining pool founded in 2016, provides professional and efficient mining services for over one million users in more than 130 countries/regions worldwide, with a cumulative mining output value of tens of billions of dollars. By offering services for various mainstream cryptos, including BTC, LTC, and KAS, ViaBTC aims to provide global users with stable, efficient, and secure mining services through its one-stop platform covering mining pools, exchanges, and wallets.
