Choosing a mining pool comes down to some simple logic: the larger the size of the pool, in terms of hashpower, the more regularly they’ll find blocks. This will ensure a consistent stream of revenue.
However, due to the small portion of the hashpower you will supply to the pool, your share of the coinbase rewards will be miniscule. Joining a smaller pool will give you a larger share of the rewards, but payouts will be less frequent because the pool will discover less blocks.
There are also some more technical considerations that will guide your decision. If you are taking the DIY approach will require a fast internet connection with low latency in pinging the pool to share data.
Any delay in receiving data can waste precious time in searching for a solution to the next block. You ideally want a ping of under 200ms and as close to zero as possible.
Different pools charge different fees, so this will also need to be taken into account. You’ll also want to check the payout frequency; some pools will only pay out on scheduled dates, or once a minimum amount of BTC has been accrued in your wallet.
Pools that custody the miners’ rewards until they are distributed also incur a risk, since you are relying on them not to get hacked or hold onto funds. You may prefer to pick a pool that pays out directly into your own wallet.
Your last consideration should be the opportunity cost of investing in a mining pool. Can you get a similar or better rate of return on your investment elsewhere, when adjusted for the risk involved?
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