The Complete Guide to Ethereum Mining Pools in 2025: What Changed After the Merge

The cryptocurrency mining landscape transformed dramatically when Ethereum transitioned to Proof-of-Stake in September 2022. Miners who once relied on ethereum mining pool operations for steady income faced an uncertain future. Yet the shift didn’t eliminate mining opportunities—it redirected them. Today, ethereum mining pool participants have discovered new pathways: mining Ethereum Classic (ETC), EthereumPoW (ETHW), and other PoW coins, or pivoting to staking mechanisms.

This guide breaks down what ethereum mining pools actually are, how they’ve adapted post-Merge, which pools remain operational, and the most practical options for both seasoned miners and newcomers.

Understanding Ethereum Mining Pools: The Basics

An ethereum mining pool functions as a collaborative network where individual miners combine their computational power to solve cryptographic puzzles. Instead of each miner competing solo—and facing extremely low odds of block discovery—pool members contribute their hash rate to a shared effort and divide rewards proportionally.

Why Miners Joined Pools

Before the Merge, ethereum mining pool membership offered clear advantages. Solo miners faced enormous variance: you might generate gigabytes of computational work yet never find a single block. Pool mining smoothed this randomness by distributing smaller, more frequent payouts based on each participant’s share of work.

Popular operations like Ethermine and F2Pool attracted millions of miners globally by offering:

• Predictable earnings: Monthly payouts rather than “feast or famine” uncertainty
• Lower barriers: Even modest GPU rigs earned consistent returns
• Accessibility: Simple setup processes for non-technical users

The 2022 Merge: Mining’s Pivot Point

September 2022 marked the Ethereum Merge—the network’s transition from Proof-of-Work consensus to Proof-of-Stake validation. Overnight, traditional ethereum mining pool operations targeting ETH became obsolete. The network no longer required miners; instead, it incentivized validators who lock capital.

This development didn’t kill mining pools entirely. Instead, it redirected mining activity to:

• Ethereum Classic (ETC): The original Ethereum chain, maintaining PoW
• EthereumPoW (ETHW): A fork preserving Proof-of-Work mechanics
• Other PoW coins: Coins like Monero, Kaspa, and others

For those seeking Ethereum rewards without mining equipment, staking emerged as the primary alternative—locking ETH to earn protocol yields.

Mining Pool Mechanics: How Rewards Are Distributed

When you connect your mining hardware to a pool, several processes occur simultaneously:

Collective Problem-Solving: Your GPU or ASIC joins thousands of others in attempting to discover valid blocks. The pool operator maintains the primary connection to the blockchain network.

Share Tracking: Every 10-15 seconds, your hardware submits proof of work attempts (called “shares”). Pool software records these contributions in real-time.

Block Discovery & Payout: When the combined effort locates a valid block, the pool claims the block reward. The software then divides this reward among participants based on their share contributions, minus the pool’s operational fee (typically 1-2%).

This mechanism replaced sporadic, luck-dependent solo mining with predictable, smaller regular payments—a trade-off miners found advantageous.

Navigating Pool Selection: Key Comparison Factors

With ETH mining closed, your choice of ethereum mining pool now focuses on ETC, ETHW, or alternative coins. Here’s how to evaluate pools:

Fee Structures & Payout Methods

PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares):

• Rewards only distributed when the pool successfully mines a block
• Payouts higher but less frequent
• Better for long-term committed miners

PPS (Pay Per Share):

• Every share submitted earns immediate payment credit
• Steady, predictable income stream
• Ideal for those valuing consistency over maximum returns

PPS+:

• Hybrid approach: PPS for base block rewards, PPLNS for transaction fees
• Balances predictability with upside potential

Withdrawal Parameters:

• Minimum payout thresholds vary (0.01 to 0.1 ETC typical)
• Lower minimums enable faster access to earnings
• Withdrawal fees range from negligible to 0.5%—check fine print

Reputation & Infrastructure

• Uptime reliability: Multi-year operational history matters; pools experiencing frequent downtime cost miners productive hash-rate time
• User support: 24/7 chat, email, or forum responsiveness indicates professional operations
• Payment consistency: Public payout records demonstrate trustworthiness
• Server geographic distribution: Multiple international servers reduce latency and maximize hash contribution

Solo vs. Pool Mining Decision

Solo Mining Path:

• Claim 100% of block rewards (minus blockchain transaction fees)
• Extremely high variance; many solo miners never find blocks
• Requires substantial hash power (typical modern GPU has <1% daily block probability alone)
• Realistic only for ASIC operators with significant hardware investments

Pool Mining Path:

• Accept modest fee (1-2%) to join collective effort
• Earn small, regular payments regardless of personal hardware
• Dramatically reduced variance; predictable monthly income
• Accessible to casual miners

For ETC and ETHW post-Merge, pools dominate miner activity because solo viability has effectively disappeared.

Leading Ethereum Mining Pools: 2025 Landscape

Market Reality: Ethermine and Hiveon remain the most widely used globally, with strong historical payouts and intuitive dashboards. F2Pool maintains institutional-grade infrastructure. Newer entrants like 2Miners attract miners through zero-fee promotions and lower minimum withdrawal thresholds.

Most pools consolidated post-Merge, with several shutting down entirely. Survivors pivoted toward ETC/ETHW or diversified to newer PoW projects. Selecting among the top three pools (Ethermine, F2Pool, Hiveon) minimizes counterparty risk for most miners.

Step-by-Step: Joining an Ethereum Mining Pool

Step 1: Wallet Setup

Create a dedicated cryptocurrency wallet supporting your target coin:

• Hardware wallet (Ledger, Trezor): Maximum security for long-term storage
• Software wallet (MetaMask, Exodus): Convenience for active trading
• Ensure wallet supports ETC or ETHW (your chosen coin)
• Backup seed phrases securely offline

Step 2: Pool Registration

• Visit your selected pool’s website (e.g., ethermine.org, 2miners.com)
• Create account with email and strong password
• Enable two-factor authentication
• Review pool’s fee structure and minimum payout rules
• Note your assigned pool endpoint/server address

Step 3: Mining Software Installation

Download mining applications compatible with your hardware and pool:

• ethminer: Open-source, works with most GPU types
• PhoenixMiner: Optimized NVIDIA GPU performance
• GMiner: Supports both NVIDIA and AMD GPUs
• Claymore/lolMiner: Legacy options still in use

Follow pool-specific setup guides—connection parameters differ by pool.

Step 4: Configuration & Launch

• Extract mining software to dedicated folder
• Create configuration file with:
  • Pool address (provided by pool operator)
  • Your wallet address
  • Worker name (optional identifier)
  • Mining intensity/power settings
• Launch miner and monitor dashboard for:
  • Active hash rate
  • Share submissions
  • Connection status
  • Earnings accumulation

Step 5: Earnings Withdrawal

• Monitor your pool balance accumulation
• When threshold reached (typically days/weeks depending on hardware), initiate withdrawal
• Funds transfer to your wallet
• Verify receipt and update personal accounting

Post-Merge Mining: What’s Actually Mineable Now?

The Merge eliminated Ethereum mining but expanded opportunities elsewhere.

Ethereum Classic & ETHW: Direct Alternatives

Both maintain Proof-of-Work consensus and support the same hardware as pre-Merge ETH mining:

Ethereum Classic (ETC):

• Established network with 15+ year track record
• Consistent hashrate (~100 TH/s as of 2025)
• Supported by major pools (Ethermine, Hiveon, F2Pool, 2Miners)
• Current market: ~$30-50 per coin (volatile)

EthereumPoW (ETHW):

• Forked from Ethereum at Merge moment
• Smaller but viable hashrate (~5-10 TH/s)
• Same pools support ETHW
• Lower price point than ETC but also smaller pool of believers

Both coins use identical Ethash algorithm; GPU configurations switch between them easily.

Cloud Mining & Third-Party Services

Remote mining rental platforms (Genesis Mining, NiceHash) allow hash-power purchases without hardware:

• Appeal: No equipment costs, maintenance, or electricity concerns
• Reality: High fees (20-30% of earnings typical) make profitability marginal; scam risk significant
• Verdict: Generally unprofitable for serious miners; suitable only for casual experimentation

Staking: The Dominant ETH Path Post-Merge

If your goal was earning Ethereum-based rewards, staking replaced mining:

Solo Staking:

• Deposit 32 ETH to become network validator
• Earn ~3-4% annual yield (variable)
• Requires maintaining validator node (24/7 uptime ideal)
• Technical barrier higher than mining setup

Staking Pools:

• Deposit any amount of ETH
• Operators pool capital and validate collectively
• Receive proportional yield (minus 5-10% operator fees)
• Zero technical requirements; custody risks depend on operator

For ex-miners seeking Ethereum exposure without PoW mining, staking offers lower hardware costs, reduced electricity expenses, and comparable yield profiles.

Mining Pool Security: Threat Landscape & Mitigation

Using any ethereum mining pool introduces specific risks that miners must actively manage.

Primary Threats

Network Centralization Risk: If a single pool controls >50% of network hashrate, it theoretically could execute consensus attacks. Historically, pools approaching 51% voluntarily encouraged hash redistribution. Current mining is sufficiently distributed to minimize this concern, but it remains theoretical risk.

Operational Abandonment: Several pools have disappeared over the years, sometimes with user funds intact, sometimes not. Ethermine’s historical stability reassures many. Newer pools carry higher abandonment risk.

Technical Hacks: Mining pools process significant value daily. Database compromises could expose:

• Wallet addresses (mining targets)
• User credentials
• Payment ledgers
• Mining hardware identifiers

Scam Pools: Fraudulent operations occasionally surface, claiming high returns or zero fees, then vanishing after collecting deposits.

Risk Mitigation Practices

Choose Established Operators: Prioritize pools with 5+ years continuous operation and verifiable payout history. Ethermine, F2Pool, and Hiveon meet this standard.

Diversify Hash Power: Split your mining across 2-3 pools rather than committing 100% to one. Reduces single-point-of-failure risk.

Verify Payment Transparency: Reputable pools publish:

• Real-time payout dashboards
• Historical payout records
• Fee breakdowns
• Server status pages

Pools refusing transparency deserve skepticism.

Security Hygiene:

• Use unique, strong passwords for pool accounts
• Enable two-factor authentication wherever available
• Never share API keys or credentials
• Avoid pools requesting sensitive information beyond wallet address
• Separate mining wallet from personal/storage wallets when possible

Self-Custody Priority: Maintain control of private keys. If pools support direct wallet withdrawals rather than internal accounts, use that path. External wallets eliminate custodial risk for stored funds.

Common Questions About Ethereum Mining Pools

Q: Can I still mine Ethereum directly? A: No. The 2022 Merge eliminated Proof-of-Work mining on Ethereum entirely. ETH now uses Proof-of-Stake validation exclusively.

Q: Is ETC mining as profitable as pre-Merge ETH? A: Profitability depends on ETC price, electricity costs, and hashrate difficulty. Current conditions typically yield 30-50% of pre-Merge ETH mining returns for equivalent hardware.

Q: What’s the difference between PPLNS and PPS payment methods? A: PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares) pays only after block discovery, offering potentially higher payouts but irregular timing. PPS (Pay Per Share) pays for every submission submitted regardless of block finding, ensuring steady but slightly lower rewards.

Q: How do I choose between solo mining and pool mining? A: For modern hardware, pool mining is essentially mandatory. Solo mining has such low success probability that expected value is negligible. Unless operating industrial-scale ASIC farms, join a pool.

Q: What happens to my mining rewards if a pool shuts down? A: Funds typically remain in your pool account until withdrawal. Well-managed pools (Ethermine, F2Pool) would facilitate emergency payouts. Poorly-managed pools might disappear with funds. Risk mitigation: frequent withdrawals to personal wallets.

Q: Is there any future for Ethereum mining after the Merge? A: Ethereum mining is permanently concluded under current protocol design. Alternative PoW coins (ETC, ETHW, Monero, etc.) remain mineable indefinitely or until their respective communities transition consensus. Staking is Ethereum’s permanent direction.

Making Your Post-Merge Mining Decision

The Ethereum Merge wasn’t the end of mining—it was a fundamental redirect. The infrastructure, skills, and economic models developed across a decade of ethereum mining pool operations now apply to ETC, ETHW, and other Proof-of-Work networks.

For continuing miners: Evaluate ETC or ETHW pools using the comparison framework above. Ethermine, Hiveon, and F2Pool represent low-risk entry points with proven reliability.

For those seeking Ethereum exposure: Staking protocols offer comparable yield with drastically lower operational overhead and electricity costs. The trade-off is capital lockup (32 ETH minimum for solo staking) and validator complexity.

For security-conscious participants: Diversify across multiple pools, maintain rigorous credential security, and prioritize frequent withdrawals to self-custody wallets. Trust, but verify through historical payout records.

The mining landscape remains vibrant and profitable for those who understand the new terrain. Choosing the right ethereum mining pool today requires the same diligence—but now with expanded options beyond Ethereum itself.

Disclaimer: This article provides informational content only and does not constitute investment or mining advice. Cryptocurrency mining involves substantial risks including hardware failure, electricity costs exceeding returns, market volatility, and potential regulatory changes. Always conduct independent research, calculate profitability using current difficulty and coin prices, and never commit capital you cannot afford to lose.