XBT's biggest pool is telling miners to run their own nodes
AlphaPool, which found about a third of XBT blocks over the past week, is ending the free hosted DATUM servers it gave miners as a trial. Instead, it's asking every miner to run their own node and DATUM client, and it published a video guide to show how.
What happened
In a post on X, AlphaPool's operator (@TwhitNub101) shared a video tutorial, with Chinese subtitles, on the fastest and cheapest way to mine to your own node with DATUM. He credits Knots developers including Chris Guida, Luke Dashjr and SpectrGen for helping build a setup he calls "truly decentralized."
Miners still on the one-click hosted DATUM trial need to move to their own server or a node at home before their monthly subscription ends. The operator called it "extremely time sensitive" and offered to help miners one on one.
Why it matters
On SHA-256, almost every hasher lets a pool build their blocks, and BIP-110 showed where that leads. We wrote about it in They can't just switch pools.
XBT's largest pool is going the other way. With DATUM, the pool only shares rewards. Each miner's own node decides what goes into the blocks they find. A pool with a third of the hash rate becomes far less of a single point of control when its miners build their own templates.
It also follows CONVOY's release of DATUM Gateway 0.5.0 beta for BLAKE2b last week. The tools for miner-built blocks on XBT are maturing fast.
If you mine on AlphaPool's trial
- Don't wait for the cutoff. Move before your monthly subscription ends, or your miners may stop earning.
- Pick where your node runs: a VPS you rent in your own name, or a node at home. Most XBT nodes run Knots.
- Follow the video linked in AlphaPool's post, then check the pool dashboard to confirm your shares arrive.
- Ask for help on AlphaPool's Discord, Telegram or X if you get stuck.
AlphaPool's DATUM fee was 2.5% plus a 0.5% block-finder bonus when we last checked. Compare it with other pools on our pools page, or read how to choose an XBT mining pool.
Compare XBT poolsPool share over time
Reporting only. Not financial advice. Details come from AlphaPool's public post on Oct 10, 2026. Pool share from XBT block explorers via xbt.live.