Topic: [BTE] Finding blocks more likely in pool? (Read 663 times)

A ton, most likely, with only a few (if any) alt-currencies surviving. I suspect that a currency with a slower hashing algorithm (even slower than Litecoin's) and a lower overall difficulty might be able to survive, if only as a conversion currency, due to the fact that more people would be able to make a profit for a longer amount of time. The main weakness I find with any of them right now is that, for the average person (and those like myself who "get" cryptocurrency, but are reluctant to sink fiat into it), there is no chance of one's mining hours being profitable over the long term, which means that after a certain point, you *have* to literally buy into the system in order to use it. For the very conservative among us, that is too risky an investment, especially in a system where the "exchange rate" amounts to "whatever value you think it has," which can wildly fluctuate because it isn't really based on commodity value or on "previously accepted value."

It doesn't help that the exchanges have almost no accountability, and how they set prices is clouded by murk and shadow.

From my perspective, right now cryptocurrency is really an investment trying to be a currency. Don't get me wrong, I think cryptocurrency has huge potential as "the cash of the digital world," but it needs to mature a *lot* before that can happen.

i'm starting to wonder just how many of these crypto currencies are going to start up over the next decade or so

That is pretty accurate for Bitcoin--at current difficulty, it would (on average) take my 7970 over a year to find a block. However, the OP is mining bytecoins, which is much lower difficulty, hence his finding a block every few days.

I got lucky and mined a block of feathercoin in a few hours when the difficulty was only about 75% of what it is now--now even that coin would take a couple days on average to find a block.

That is correct. From my understanding, mining hashes is a little like playing the lottery, where your hashing speed is akin to buying lotto tickets. Higher hash rate == buying more tickets, in other words.

considering it got so hard maybe 20+ g hash or more ...

What would be a reasonable number to start solo mining vs pool mining? In Khs? If this makes any sense? lol

you need alot of power to solo mine fyi and if you dont have the power you might never find a block... if im not mistaking

The profitability doesn't change. The variability is reduced, so the income in a pool is more stable than solo mining 

Ah, so other than the fee, it would not affect my profitability either way? Interesting.

Thanks for the help!

Minus fee.

A pool just reduce variability. As you noticed, by solo mining it takes tons of time to find a block but you keep all the reward, in a pool the reward is divided but the pool finds more blocks. In the long term the reward is the same.

Hey guys,
     I'm new around here, but I've been lurking ever since I first became fascinated by the concept of digital currency a few months ago. My current pet coin is Bytecoin, and I am wondering something that I haven't found an answer to.

     At the rate my PC mines, on P2Pool and on pool.bytecoin.in I am able to find a new block every couple to three days. Of course, I must share those rewards with all miners in the pool. If I went solo, I could keep the whole reward, but it would not be profitable for me if there is a concomitant decrease in the likelihood to find a block. I know that overall difficulty is tied to the hashrate on the network, but does mining in a pool increase the likelihood that any one miner will find a block?

Thanks in advance, guys.