Litecoin is a cryptocurrency that was derived from a fork in the Bitcoin blockchain in 2011. Charlie Lee created the coin as a fast alternative that aimed to solve the central authoritative issues posed by BTC. It shares features that are similar to that of BTC but uses a different algorithm to achieve the end results. Even with this slight difference, LTC mining can still provide the miners with a rewarding experience. In this article, we will look more into the LTC mining process, and also on the top Litecoin mining pools.
What Is A Litecoin Mining Pool?
A Litecoin mining pool is a group of miners who connect their mining machines over the internet. This is done to boost the probability of earning the mining reward for unlocking a new block. These blocks are opened when a miner solves the hash problem that the blockchain network is trying to solve.
The mining process can be extremely time-consuming and also requires a lot of energy and computational power. As mining could take years to become profitable, joining a mining pool is the best and most affordable way to increase your chance of getting a reward. Here, the individual participants pour their processing power into the combined effort of unlocking a new block.
If the miners manage to open a new block, they will likely be rewarded a Litecoin token in this case. The reward is then split between the individual miners either based on their contributed processing power or based on shares that are agreed initially by them. In most scenarios, this is calculated by the pool’s software which directly transfers the reward to the respective wallets.
Top Litecoin Mining Pools
There are many Litecoin mining pools out there. Here, we will look into the top three picks that can get you started in the Litecoin mining business. So, without any delay, let’s get into it.
1. LitecoinPool.org
LitecoinPool.org is one of the largest LTC mining pools in the world. It is a pay-per-share pool that was launched on November 5, 2011. A PPS pool is a crypto mining pool that pays miners for each block they contribute to the pool. For every unlocked block, the miners are immediately handed a payout from the pool’s balance for their contribution to unlocking a block.
LitecoinPool.org has eight distinct geographical servers, making it one of the best pools that you can access from most parts of the world. Also, there are no fees associated with automatic payouts or manual payouts. Its 14 years of service have made it one of the most trusted LTC pools out there. There was a point in 2012 when the pool had complete control over 40% of the Litecoin hash power.
Advantages
- Old and trustworthy.
- Availability of merge mining.
- No fees for fund withdrawal.
- Have servers around the world.
- They always pay you for the work you done for the platform.
- Perfect for both experienced and inexperienced miners.
Disadvantages
- Can only use ASIC miners.
- Expensive.
- Old interface.
2. viaBTC
viaBTC is one of the largest Litecoin mining pools following LitecoinPool.org. It’s a cryptocurrency mining platform that offers mining for over a dozen cryptocurrencies, including BTC, LTC, and BCH. The viaBTC platform was first established in 2016 and has an active user base of over 1 million users in more than 130 countries.
The miners in viaBTC can also view their mining profits, hash rate, and miner status in real-time. They can also manage multiple mining accounts and receive notifications. The platform also allows miners to effectively manage their mining profits and charges zero transaction fees. viaBTC also has also facilitated various nodes around the world to provide users with a low-latency mining network.
Advantages
- High efficiency and performance.
- A variety of payment options are available.
- Compatible with a lot of crypto coins other than Litecoin and Bitcoin.
- Transparency.
- Secure.
- Technical support and a vibrant community.
Disadvantages
- Service fees.
- Centralized mining power.
3. ProHashing
ProHashing is a crypto mining pool that is based in Pennsylvania. It was one of the first mining pools that used to offer direct payouts to the banking system. The exchange was first established in August 2014. The payment detail is calculated by the pool’s software and can be sent directly to the users’ wallets. One another key factor about this mining platform is that it employs a PPS payment model. That means even if you are mining ETH, you could still be paid using BTC or LTC. There are also no fees associated with the transaction.
The proHashing also has an additional feature that allows it to automatically mine the most profitable coin by making use of your hash power. This coin is determined by the algorithm that is already built into the system that calculates your profitability multiple times per second. This is done to minimize your probability of incurring a loss.
Advantages
- Automated mining feature.
- Security.
- Can be rewarded with other coins.
- Relatively easy to use.
Disadvantages
- High fee structure.
- The reward is comparatively less compared to others.
Which Should You Choose?
When choosing a mining pool, there are a lot of things to consider. But the main and most important thing is that you choose the one more suitable for you than the ones the majority tell you to choose. For instance, the top 3 Litecoin mining pools are Antpool, F2Pool, and LTC.top. However, they are limited to Chinese miners as most of their servers are located in China, and their UI features the Chinese language.
Even though these are the top dogs, others like LitecoinPool.org also offer almost the same features. So, you only need to simply choose one whose server is quite close to your location and check whether the fee structure and reward system also align with you. You can also conduct additional research on these Litecoin mining pools by referring to various forums and articles on it.
