Mining Pool

Definition ∞ A mining pool is a group of cryptocurrency miners who combine their computational resources to increase their chances of finding a block. Participants in a pool share the mining rewards proportionally to the amount of work they contribute. This collaborative approach mitigates the variance in individual mining success and provides more consistent payouts.
Context ∞ Discussions surrounding mining pools often center on their influence on network decentralization, particularly if a few large pools control a significant portion of the total mining hash rate. The economic incentives for miners to join pools and the operational efficiency of various pool software are also frequent topics.