delvingbitcoin

Ecash TIDES using Cashu and Stratum v2

Ecash TIDES using Cashu and Stratum v2

Original Postby EthnTuttle

Posted on: May 17, 2024 02:14 UTC

In the realm of cryptocurrency mining, particularly within mining pools, the allocation of target proof-of-work (PoW) difficulties serves as a critical mechanism to maintain operational efficiency and inclusivity.

The approach towards setting these target difficulties is nuanced, primarily to accommodate the wide spectrum of hashing power inherent across various mining devices. For instance, assigning the same PoW target to machines with significantly disparate capabilities, such as the Antminer S9 compared to the more powerful Antminer S21, would either severely limit the less powerful device's ability to find valid shares or overwhelm the pool with an excessive number of shares from the more capable machine. This differentiation in target difficulty ensures that participants, regardless of their hardware's hash rate, can contribute to the pool without risking the operational stability of the pool itself or the fairness of share distribution.

Furthermore, the treatment of shares within a mining pool, particularly their valuation and weighting, is a sophisticated process that leverages specific mechanisms to ensure equitable compensation. The TIDES documentation elucidates how shares are weighted according to their associated target difficulty within a given share_log_window. This methodology suggests that not all shares are valued equally; instead, their worth is influenced by the difficulty level of the PoW task they represent. Such a system implies that a direct, linear conversion between eShares and satoshis is not feasible due to the nuanced valuation of shares based on the targeted difficulty level. This intricately designed framework underscores the importance of implementing a balanced and fair mechanism for compensating participants in a mining pool, catering to both the diversity of participating hardware and the integrity of the mining process itself.