LetsExchange Blog

Litecoin Mining Pool - How to Choose One in 2024?

Joshua Morris -

Litecoin (LTC) is a cryptocurrency launched on October 7, 2011. Its creator, Charlie Lee, envisaged it as a faster alternative to Bitcoin (BTC). Litecoin uses a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism. As such, it can be mined to get LTC rewards. Unlike mining other cryptocurrencies using PoW (for example, Bitcoin), mining Litecoin is still profitable. However, mining solo might not be the best option.

So, if you want to increase your chances of getting crypto rewards from your mining activity, consider joining a Litecoin mining pool. If you are not familiar with this term, we explain the basics in this article. We also provide information to help you choose the best Litecoin mining pool for your particular needs. So, let’s begin!

What Is an LTC Mining Pool?

First, let us quickly remind you what cryptocurrency mining is. Mining is the process of verifying transaction information blocks before adding them to a blockchain. It involves the solving of complex cryptographic equations. Miners compete among them to solve these equations. The first miner to solve an equation gets a reward.

If you mine Litecoin solo, your chances of getting a reward are low, even with a powerful computer. Joining a Litecoin pool increases your chances of mining profitably. An LTC pool is a collaborative group of miners who combine their computational resources to try to solve the said equations and therefore verify blocks faster.

How Does a Litecoin Mining Pool Work?

A mining pool increases the probability of successfully mining Litecoin. In case of success, the obtained crypto rewards are shared proportionally among all the pool participants. All Litecoin mining pools work with the same principle. However, the rewards are usually split based on predefined terms. There are several protocols governing most of the Litecoin pools:

  • Proportional Mining Pools. This type of pool is the most common. Miners receive rewards when a block is found. A reward is proportional to the number of shares that a miner holds.
  • Pay-per-Share Pools. Each miner receives shares for their contribution to these pools, as in the previous case. However, these pools provide instant payouts regardless of when the block is found.
  • Peer-to-Peer Pools. A pool of this type integrates a separate blockchain to prevent centralization and cheating on the part of the operators. It also prevents the entire pool from failing because of a central problem.

It will be easier to determine what type of LTC mining pool is best for you with this information.

Best Litecoin Mining Pools

Three large mining pools provide more than 50% of the hashing power to mine Litecoin. Therefore, you should consider joining one of these pools to increase the profitability of your mining activity. But if that is not possible, below we describe other great options.

LitecoinPool.org

This LTC pool was launched in November 2011 as LitecoinPool.org. LitecoinPool is a Pay-per-Share (PPS) mining pool and has become one of the most renowned Litecoin mining pools. It is the oldest LTC mining pool operating. Its PPS scheme has been demonstrated to be very convenient since you get a payout even if the Litecoin network orphans a block. LitecoinPool has eight servers distributed globally and offers a high level of security. It is the fourth largest Litecoin mining pool by produced hashrate (32.6 TH/s).

ViaBTC.com

This pool was launched in 2016 as ViaBTC.com. Besides Litecoin, ViaBTC allows mining Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, ZCash, Dash, and other cryptocurrencies. It consistently ranks among the top hashrate providers for mining the aforementioned coins. Moreover, this pool has kept more than 99.9% uptime since its launch. ViaBTC is a PPS pool that takes a percentage of the mining income to manage accounts and general maintenance. ViaBTC is the fifth largest Litecoin pool in the world.

BTC.com

This pool was launched in 2015. It is operated by Bitmain, the largest mining hardware manufacturer in the world. It works on a PPS model, which guarantees payouts to miners for their contribution to the efforts to find LTC blocks. Besides Litecoin, this pool allows mining of other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Decredm, Ethereum Classic, and others. This pool charges fees ranging from 1.5% to 4% and is one of the few pools that make Bitcoin mining profitable. BTC.com is the eighth largest Litecoin pool globally.

ProHashing.com

This pool was launched in 2014. It is a multi-currency pool, allowing the mining of hundreds of cryptocurrencies. It supports many hashing algorithms, including SHA-256, Scrypt, etc. ProHashing utilizes the PPS payment model. Payouts are in any cryptocurrency or even fiat money (USD) via Coinbase. It is an excellent alternative for any owner of a Scrypt miner. ProHashing is the fifteenth largest Litecoin mining pool.

FAQ

What Is the Total Hashrate of LTC?

As of June 6, 2022, the current Litecoin hashrate was 475.40 TH/s.

Is It Profitable to Mine Litecoin in a Mining Pool?

Yes, Litecoin is one of the few cryptocurrencies using PoW that you still can profitably mine in a mining pool. However, if you want to add Litecoin to your investment portfolio without mining, you can buy this cryptocurrency on LetsExchange.io. Our platform does not require registration to allow you to trade more than 2000 cryptocurrencies.

How Long Does It Take to Mine 1 Litecoin?

The average block mining time on Litecoin's blockchain is two minutes and 20 seconds.

Disclaimer

Please keep in mind that the above information is based exclusively on our observations and is provided for informational purposes only. It doesn’t constitute any kind of financial advice nor represents an official forecast. Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile asset, and you are investing in it at your own risk.