What is the best XBT mining pool?

It depends on your setup. If you run your own node and a DATUM gateway, several pools charge 0% for DATUM miners. If you just want to plug in a miner, look for a pool with low fees, a steady block count and no signup. xbt.live/pools compares fees, payouts and live block share.

DATUM lets a miner run their own node and build their own block templates while still sharing rewards through a pool. It is the most decentralized way to pool-mine XBT.

Does pool concentration matter on XBT?

Yes. No single pool should get near 50% of blocks. xbt.live shows each pool's share over the last 7 days and the last 24 hours so miners can spread their hash rate.

Mining

XBT Mining Pools Compared

Every XBT (Bitcoin BLAKE2b) pool that found a block in the last 7 days, live from the chain, plus fees, payout method, minimum payout and DATUM support where we could verify them. All of these work with Sia BLAKE2b ASICs (Goldshell, iBeLink, Antminer A3 and others).

Read this first: rewards mined from block 973,440 stay locked until block 979,920 (around Nov 1), at every pool. What it means for payouts. Lazarus runs almost entirely on miners' own DATUM gateways (about 99.5% of its work). Its public stratum is a fallback endpoint that charges 100% after a short grace period. Fees and rules change often on a new chain. Check the pool's own site before you point hash at it.

Pool	7-day blocks	Fee: plain stratum	Fee: DATUM	Payout	Minimum	Connect

Fees checked Oct 7, 2026 from each pool's site. Block share is live from the chain.

Which pool should I pick?

Full walkthrough: How to choose an XBT mining pool.

You run your own node (Start9, Umbrel, Knots BLAKE2b) and a DATUM gateway: Lazarus, B2Pool and RIPTIDE all charge 0% on DATUM. You build your own block templates, which is the most decentralized way to mine.
You just want to plug in a miner, no node: B2Pool (1% TIDES, no signup, regional servers) or Minepoolis (2%, PPLNS / FPPS+ / solo). Lazarus's public stratum isn't meant for this: it's a fallback that charges 100% after the grace period.
Small miner, want steady payouts: pick a pool with a healthy 7-day block count. TIDES pools pay you from several blocks in a row, so a pool that finds blocks often smooths your income.
Help decentralize: no single pool should get near 50%. If your pool is the biggest one in the table, consider a smaller one with the same fee.
Lottery: solo ports (B2Pool 3334, Minepoolis 4482) pay the whole block if you find one, and nothing if you don't.

Terms

DATUM: you run a node and a gateway, build your own block template, and the pool only splits rewards. Pioneered by OCEAN on Bitcoin.
TIDES: rewards from each block are split across all work in a rolling window (about 8 blocks' worth). Paid straight into the block's coinbase, no pool wallet.
PPLNS / FPPS: classic pool payouts. The pool holds your balance and pays it out once you pass the minimum.

Live pool share on the home page · Miner earnings on the profitability page · Know a pool we missed? Email hello@xbt.live

Not affiliated with any pool. Not financial advice.