The Bitcoin Miner’s Glossary: Every Mining Term You Need to Know (A-Z)

Bitcoin mining has its own language. If you are going to mine, you need to speak it. This is not a fluffy overview for casual observers — this is a working glossary built by miners, for miners. Every term here is defined through the lens of someone who actually runs machines, solders hashboards, and believes that decentralizing Bitcoin’s hash rate is not optional — it is essential.

At D-Central Technologies, we have been in the trenches since 2016. We are Canada’s Bitcoin Mining Hackers — taking institutional-grade mining technology and making it accessible to home miners, solo operators, and anyone who believes that every hash counts. We repair ASICs, build custom mining solutions, manufacture open-source miners, and ship worldwide from Montreal, Quebec.

This glossary covers everything from foundational Bitcoin concepts to the latest open-source mining hardware and pool payout schemes. Bookmark it. Reference it. And if a term is missing, let us know — we will add it.

Quick Navigation: A–Z

A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · R · S · T · U · V · W

A

ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit)

A chip — and by extension, a machine built around that chip — designed to do exactly one thing: compute SHA-256 hashes as fast and efficiently as possible. Unlike GPUs or CPUs, an ASIC cannot be repurposed. It is a purpose-built hashing machine. Modern Bitcoin ASICs like the Antminer S21 or Whatsminer M60 pack hundreds of these chips onto hashboards, delivering terahashes per second of mining power. When an ASIC fails, D-Central’s ASIC repair service brings it back to life — we provide repair services for supported ASIC hardware.

ASIC Chip

The individual silicon die inside an ASIC miner that performs SHA-256 computations. Examples include Bitmain’s BM1366 (used in the S19 XP), BM1370 (used in the S21), and BM1397 (used in the S17/T17 and also in the Bitaxe Supra). Chip generation determines a miner’s efficiency — newer chips produce more hashes per watt. When you see “5 nm” or “4 nm” in miner specs, that refers to the fabrication process of these chips.

ASIC Repair

The process of diagnosing and fixing failed ASIC mining hardware. This can involve replacing blown ASIC chips, reflowing solder joints on hashboards, replacing faulty components like voltage regulators or temperature sensors, and firmware recovery. D-Central offers an ASIC repair service; confirm current supported models, scope, pricing, and turnaround before sending equipment.

AxeOS

The open-source firmware that runs on Bitaxe miners. AxeOS provides a web-based interface for configuring your mining pool, monitoring hashrate, setting fan speeds, adjusting core voltage, and overclocking. It connects over Wi-Fi, making the Bitaxe a truly standalone solo mining device — no separate computer required. AxeOS is community-developed and regularly updated with new features.

Avalon (Canaan)

A line of ASIC miners manufactured by Canaan Creative. Avalon miners were among the first commercially available Bitcoin ASICs. Canaan is also notable for being the first Bitcoin mining hardware company to go public on NASDAQ. Their machines are less common than Bitmain or MicroBT units but remain in active deployment.

B

Bitcoin

A decentralized, peer-to-peer electronic cash system invented by Satoshi Nakamoto and released in 2009. Bitcoin uses proof-of-work mining to secure the network, process transactions, and issue new coins on a predictable schedule. It is the hardest money ever created — capped at 21 million coins, enforced by code, and secured by the largest computing network on Earth. Everything in this glossary exists because of Bitcoin.

Bitaxe

An open-source, standalone Bitcoin ASIC-mining device. A Bitaxe can be configured for pooled mining, a solo-pool service, or direct solo mining when the operator supplies compatible infrastructure; the hardware itself does not determine that choice. Its hashrate creates a non-zero but typically very small chance of a network-valid block. Consult pioneer in the Bitaxe ecosystem and the exact board revision documentation for supported firmware, cooling, input voltage, connector, and power supply before connecting power.

Bitaxe Hex

A multi-chip open-source mining design in the Bitaxe ecosystem. Electrical input, connector, cooling, firmware, and supported operating range depend on the exact board revision and assembler. Use the documentation and supplied or approved power equipment for that specific unit; do not infer a requirement from a different Bitaxe model.

Bitaxe Variants

Bitaxe names usually identify a design revision or ASIC family, but available variants and electrical interfaces change over time. Open hardware permits multiple manufacturers and revisions. Verify the exact board, bill of materials, firmware release, cooling arrangement, and power requirements with the manufacturer or assembler; accessories are not evidence that every model has the same specifications.

Bitcoin Space Heater

A mining device enclosed or installed to deliver some of its heat to a space. Nearly all electrical input ultimately becomes heat within the relevant boundary, but useful heat depends on placement, airflow, controls, demand, and the displaced heating system. Mining revenue is variable and does not make heating free. Use Bitcoin Space Heater editions only with model-specific electrical, thermal, clearance, and installation guidance, and obtain qualified help where local rules or the installation require it.

Block

A block is a data structure containing transactions and a header. A miner or template provider assembles a candidate and searches for a header hash that meets the target; independently validating full nodes decide whether the block and its transactions obey consensus rules. Valid blocks are linked by their previous-block hash. Block arrivals average about ten minutes over long periods but individual intervals are random.

Block Header

An 80-byte data structure at the top of every Bitcoin block. It contains six fields: version, previous block hash, Merkle root, timestamp, difficulty target (nBits), and nonce. This is the data that miners actually hash — over and over, billions of times per second — trying to find a hash below the current difficulty target.

Block Reward (Block Subsidy)

The block subsidy is the maximum new bitcoin a valid block may claim in its coinbase transaction at a given block height. The subsidy began at 50 BTC and is reduced every 210,000 blocks under consensus rules. Transaction fees are separate: a block producer may claim eligible fees from transactions included in that block, may underclaim them, and the resulting coinbase outputs mature under the consensus maturity rule. Check a height-based primary source for the applicable subsidy.

Block Template

A candidate block definition: it includes a coinbase transaction, selected transactions, and header-related fields. A template provider may be a solo operator, pool, or other compatible service. Stratum V2 supports multiple roles, including optional Job Declaration and template-distribution paths; it does not automatically give every physical miner independent transaction-selection authority.

Blockchain

Bitcoin’s blockchain is an append-only history of blocks selected by accumulated proof of work among valid candidates. Changing a confirmed history requires producing a competing valid chain with sufficient work while the network continues to extend its view. Confirmation depth generally reduces reversal risk, but it is not an absolute guarantee or a substitute for independent node validation.

BM1366 / BM1370 / BM1397

Bitmain ASIC chip model numbers that matter because they define a miner’s generation and efficiency. The BM1397 powers the Antminer S17/T17 series and the Bitaxe Supra. The BM1366 powers the S19 XP and the Bitaxe Ultra. The BM1370 powers the S21 series and the Bitaxe Gamma/GT. Each generation brings better joules-per-terahash efficiency.

Braiins OS

An open-source, Linux-based firmware replacement for Antminer hardware. Braiins OS+ includes autotuning capabilities that optimize voltage domains and per-chip frequencies to maximize hashrate-per-watt. It supports Stratum V2 and is one of the most popular aftermarket firmwares for ASIC miners looking to squeeze out extra performance or reduce power consumption.

C

CKPool / CKSolo

CKPool is mining-pool software, and public solo-pool services can use it. Pointing a device at a solo endpoint is not necessarily direct solo mining: the service can provide work, relay a solution, set payout instructions, and charge a fee under its terms. If a submitted solution becomes a valid accepted block, the configured recipient receives the coinbase payout subject to the service’s documented fee and payout arrangement.

Coinbase Transaction

The coinbase transaction is the first transaction in a block and has a special input rather than ordinary UTXO inputs. It may claim the permitted block subsidy plus eligible transaction fees, but a block producer can underclaim. Its outputs are subject to the consensus maturity rule. The coinbase script can carry limited arbitrary data subject to consensus and policy constraints.

Cold Wallet (Cold Storage)

A method of storing bitcoin private keys completely offline — never touching a device connected to the internet. Hardware wallets (like Coldcard, Trezor, or Ledger) are the most common form. For miners, cold storage is where you move your earned bitcoin for long-term holding. The cypherpunk principle: not your keys, not your coins.

Control Board

The brain of an ASIC miner. The control board runs the firmware, manages network connectivity, communicates with hashboards, and interfaces with the mining pool via Stratum protocol. Common control boards include Bitmain’s Xilinx-based boards and Beaglebone-based alternatives. When a miner will not boot, connect to the network, or initialize hashboards, the control board is often the first suspect.

Cryptojacking

The unauthorized hijacking of someone else’s computing resources to mine cryptocurrency. Malware is installed on a victim’s device — usually through a compromised website or phishing attack — and silently runs mining software in the background. The victim pays the electricity bill; the attacker collects the mining rewards. This is theft, plain and simple. Keep your systems patched and run reputable security software.

D

Difficulty

Difficulty expresses how restrictive the proof-of-work target is. Bitcoin retargets every 2,016 blocks using the elapsed time of the preceding period, within protocol limits, to target a long-run average interval near ten minutes. Difficulty and estimated network work rate change continually, so a glossary should not treat a dated level as a permanent fact.

Difficulty Adjustment

The algorithmic recalculation of Bitcoin’s mining difficulty every 2,016 blocks. This is one of Bitcoin’s most elegant features — a self-correcting feedback loop that maintains the 10-minute block interval. No central authority decides when to make mining easier or harder; the protocol handles it mathematically. The maximum adjustment per period is a factor of 4 in either direction, though real-world adjustments are typically much smaller.

Double Spending

Double spending is an attempt to make conflicting spends of the same UTXO. Nodes reject transactions and blocks that violate consensus rules. For a confirmed payment, a competing valid chain can attempt to replace recent history; the risk depends on confirmation depth, adversary resources and control, propagation, recipient policy, and other conditions. Recipients choose confirmation requirements for their own risk tolerance.

Dust

Dust is a colloquial description for a very small UTXO that may cost more to spend than its value at prevailing feerates. Dust thresholds are primarily relay and wallet-policy concepts, not a universal consensus amount. Pool payout thresholds and wallet coin selection affect whether small outputs accumulate.

E

Efficiency (J/TH)

Joules per terahash measures energy used per unit of hashing work: lower values are more efficient when measured at the same boundary. Compare exact model, revision, firmware, settings, cooling, temperature, input voltage, and whether the measurement is ASIC-side or AC wall power. J/TH matters to operating cost, but profitability also depends on accepted work, pool terms, uptime, fees, capital costs, and electricity pricing.

Epoch

In Bitcoin mining, an epoch is the period of 2,016 blocks between difficulty adjustments, lasting approximately two weeks. Some pool statistics and hashrate calculations reference epochs to provide context for performance trends.

Extranonce

An extranonce is additional variable data normally incorporated through the coinbase transaction so a miner can search beyond the 32-bit header nonce. In Stratum V1 a pool commonly assigns a per-connection extranonce component; allocation and use differ by protocol, proxy, channel, and template arrangement. The changed coinbase changes the Merkle root and therefore the header search space.

F

Fan (Cooling Fan)

Fans move air through an ASIC miner and are part of its thermal-control system. Noise, airflow, pressure, connector pinout, fan sensing, firmware checks, and electrical load are model-specific. Do not fit quieter fans, ducting, or adapters merely by size: use Antminer S19 documentation and the manufacturer’s approved configuration, and stop operation if cooling or fan monitoring is inadequate.

Firmware

The software that runs on an ASIC miner’s control board, controlling everything from pool configuration to fan speeds to chip voltages. Stock firmware comes from the manufacturer (Bitmain, MicroBT, etc.), but aftermarket options like Braiins OS, VNish, and LuxOS offer performance tuning, autotuning, and advanced features. For Bitaxe devices, the firmware is AxeOS.

FPPS (Full Pay-Per-Share)

FPPS is a pool accounting method that generally pays a stated amount per accepted share and incorporates a pool-defined treatment of transaction fees. It can reduce block-finding variance for the participant, while the operator assumes more variance and the participant still has fee, threshold, downtime, and counterparty risk. The precise formula, fees, and payment timing are contractual and must be checked with the pool.

G

Genesis Block

Block 0 — the first block in the Bitcoin blockchain, mined by Satoshi Nakamoto on January 3, 2009. Its coinbase contains the text: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” This embedded message is both a timestamp proof and a statement of purpose: Bitcoin exists because the traditional financial system failed.

GPU Mining

Mining using graphics processing units (GPUs). GPU mining was viable for Bitcoin from 2009 to roughly 2013, before ASICs made it economically irrelevant for SHA-256. GPUs can still mine other proof-of-work algorithms, but for Bitcoin, ASIC miners are the only viable option. The transition from GPU to ASIC was a natural consequence of Bitcoin’s growing hashrate and difficulty.

H

Halving

The block subsidy is reduced at fixed 210,000-block intervals under Bitcoin’s consensus rules. The cadence is approximately four years because block times vary. The subsidy and transaction fees are distinct: fees are determined by transactions selected in a particular block. Use a height-based source for the current subsidy rather than treating a calendar-year statement as permanent.

Hash

The output of running data through a cryptographic hash function. In Bitcoin mining, miners repeatedly hash the block header using SHA-256 (actually double-SHA-256) trying to find a result that falls below the current difficulty target. A valid hash is essentially a very large lottery — you cannot predict it, you cannot shortcut it, you just have to keep trying. That is the proof in proof-of-work.

Hashboard

A printed circuit board (PCB) inside an ASIC miner that holds dozens to hundreds of ASIC chips. Most full-size miners have three hashboards, each contributing roughly one-third of the machine’s total hashrate. Hashboard failure is the most common serious ASIC issue — causes include blown chips, cracked solder joints, corroded connectors, and power delivery failures. D-Central’s repair technicians work on hashboards daily.

Hashrate

Hashrate is the rate of hash attempts or accepted hashing work, commonly expressed in H/s, TH/s, PH/s, or EH/s. A device’s reported rate and a pool’s accepted rate can differ because of settings, rejects, stale work, and measurement windows. Network hashrate is an estimate inferred from observed proof of work and elapsed block time, not a direct count of machines or a complete measure of security.

Hashrate Distribution

Hashrate distribution describes estimates of how hashing work is coordinated among pools, operators, and solo arrangements. A pool label does not necessarily identify ownership or physical location of the machines, and pool coordination is distinct from consensus validation. Concentration can create operational and censorship concerns, but the effect depends on template control, participant choice, protocol support, and the ability to switch services.

Heat Recovery (Heat Reuse)

Heat recovery is the attempt to use heat produced by mining equipment for a useful load, such as space or process heating. Nearly all electrical input becomes heat somewhere, but recoverable and useful heat depend on the system boundary, seasonal demand, airflow or fluid design, controls, losses, and the heating equipment displaced. It is not a promise of savings; including Bitcoin Space Heaters requires model-specific installation, electrical, and fire-safety guidance.

Home Mining

Home mining means operating mining equipment in a residential setting. It requires a model-specific assessment of electrical capacity, circuit protection, heat rejection or use, airflow, clearances, noise, network reliability, local rules, insurance, and economics. A home location can diversify ownership or geography when operators make independent choices, but location alone does not determine decentralization.

Hosting (Mining Hosting)

A service where a facility houses and operates your mining hardware on your behalf, providing power, cooling, internet, and physical security. Ideal for miners who cannot run machines at home due to noise, power, or climate constraints. D-Central offers hosting services from our facility in Montreal, Quebec, where we benefit from low-cost hydroelectric power.

I

Immersion Cooling

Immersion cooling places compatible hardware in a dielectric fluid system designed for that purpose. It can remove fan noise from the miner itself, but introduces fluid, pump, heat-exchanger, sealing, electrical, maintenance, warranty, and fire-safety considerations. Do not assume it extends life or permits overclocking; use equipment approved for the exact miner and an engineered installation plan.

Inscriptions (Ordinals)

Data embedded directly into the Bitcoin blockchain using the Ordinals protocol, introduced in early 2023. Inscriptions allow arbitrary content (images, text, etc.) to be attached to individual satoshis. While controversial among Bitcoiners — some view them as spam, others see them as a valid use of block space — inscriptions have significantly increased transaction fees during high-activity periods, directly benefiting miners.

J

J/TH (Joules per Terahash)

J/TH is energy divided by hashing work. For a measured miner, watts divided by TH/s yields J/TH because one watt equals one joule per second. Compare figures only when the test boundary and conditions are stated, especially AC-wall versus board-level power, firmware, voltage, cooling, temperature, and accepted rather than nominal hashrate.

K

KH/s, MH/s, GH/s, TH/s, PH/s, EH/s

These are decimal units of hash rate: kilohash, megahash, gigahash, terahash, petahash, and exahash per second, each 1,000 times the previous unit. They describe a rate, not a machine count, ownership distribution, electricity use, or a directly observed network total. Any network figure should identify its timestamp, estimation method, and averaging window.

L

Lightning Network

A Layer 2 payment protocol built on top of Bitcoin that enables near-instant, low-fee transactions. Lightning uses payment channels between nodes, allowing bitcoin to flow back and forth without touching the main blockchain until the channel is closed. For miners, Lightning is relevant because some pools (like OCEAN) offer Lightning payouts, getting your earned sats to you faster and cheaper.

Lottery Mining

Lottery mining is an informal name for low-hashrate solo or solo-pool participation with a small probability of a large block-related payout. Direct solo mining, a solo-pool service, and conventional pool mining differ in template construction, fees, payout destination, and counterparty exposure. Expected returns are not automatically identical after fees, payout terms, and operational losses, and outcomes are highly variable.

M

Mempool

Short for “memory pool” — the holding area where valid but unconfirmed Bitcoin transactions wait to be included in a block. When the mempool is full, transactions with higher fees get priority. Miners (and pools constructing block templates) select transactions from the mempool to maximize fee revenue. A congested mempool means higher fees, which is good for miners.

Merkle Root

A single hash that represents all the transactions in a block, computed by hashing pairs of transaction hashes together in a tree structure until one root hash remains. The Merkle root is included in the block header, enabling efficient verification that a specific transaction is included in a block without downloading the entire block.

Mining Algorithm

The cryptographic hash function used by a proof-of-work blockchain. Bitcoin uses SHA-256 (specifically, double SHA-256). The mining algorithm determines what type of hardware can mine the coin — SHA-256 is mined with purpose-built ASICs. This glossary is focused on Bitcoin and SHA-256 mining.

Mining Difficulty

See: Difficulty.

Mining Farm

A large-scale facility dedicated to running hundreds or thousands of ASIC miners. Mining farms benefit from economies of scale in power procurement, cooling, and management — but they also represent hashrate centralization. The counterbalance is home mining and small-scale operations running from garages, basements, and spare rooms.

Mining Pool

A mining pool coordinates hashing work so participants can receive payouts under a stated accounting method. The operator may provide jobs, set share targets, construct or obtain templates, relay blocks, custody balances, and set fees or minimum payouts; these roles vary by service. Pooling usually reduces an individual’s block-finding variance, but it does not remove operational, fee, payout, or counterparty risk.

N

NerdAxe

An open-source Bitcoin mining device in the “Nerd” family of open-source miners. Like the Bitaxe, the NerdAxe uses a real ASIC chip and runs independently. It is part of D-Central’s growing lineup of open-source mining hardware. Power input: 5V barrel jack (5.5×2.1mm DC), 5V/6A PSU required.

Nerdminer

An entry-level open-source solo mining device, typically built around an ESP32 microcontroller. The Nerdminer produces extremely low hashrate (measured in KH/s) — it is more of an educational and novelty device than a practical miner. That said, it is a fantastic way to learn how Bitcoin mining works at the protocol level, and yes, it technically has a (vanishingly small) chance of finding a block.

NerdQAxe

A quad-chip open-source mining device offering more hashrate than single-chip units. The NerdQAxe++ uses a 12V DC XT30 connector and requires a 10A PSU. Part of the growing ecosystem of open-source mining hardware that D-Central stocks and supports.

Network Hashrate

Network hashrate is an estimated aggregate work rate derived from observed valid blocks, difficulty or target, and elapsed time over a chosen window. It is not directly measured and different windows can produce different estimates because block discovery is random. It cannot by itself reveal the number, ownership, location, efficiency, or energy source of miners.

Nonce

“Number used once.” A 4-byte field in the Bitcoin block header that miners increment to produce different hash outputs. Mining is essentially: hash the block header, check if the result is below the difficulty target, if not, change the nonce and try again. Modern ASICs burn through the entire 4-byte nonce space (about 4.3 billion values) in under a second, which is why the extranonce in the coinbase transaction provides additional search space.

O

OCEAN Pool

OCEAN is a Bitcoin mining-pool service with its own published payout, template, and node-policy documentation. Features, supported protocols, transaction-selection policies, and payout mechanics can change; verify them against the service’s current documentation before relying on a claim. A pool’s public policy does not remove the need to understand its fees, dependencies, and configuration.

Open-Source Mining Hardware

Mining devices whose hardware designs are publicly available, allowing anyone to manufacture, modify, and improve them. The Bitaxe is the flagship example — its schematics, PCB layouts, and firmware (AxeOS) are all open source. Other examples include the NerdAxe, Nerdminer, NerdQAxe, and PiAxe. D-Central is a pioneer in the open-source mining ecosystem, having created the original Bitaxe Mesh Stand and developed leading accessories for these devices.

Overclocking

Overclocking runs hardware outside a manufacturer’s nominal frequency, voltage, or power profile to seek more hashrate. It can raise electrical load, heat, noise, reject rate, and component stress, and may affect warranty or safety. Any result is model-, firmware-, cooling-, and silicon-specific; use only documented settings and verify power delivery and thermal limits before operation.

P

Pleb Mining

Mining Bitcoin as an individual — at home, in a garage, in a spare room — rather than in an industrial facility. Pleb mining is about sovereignty: running your own miner, pointing it at your own pool (or solo), and contributing your hashrate to the decentralization of the network. D-Central exists to serve pleb miners. We are Bitcoin Mining Hackers — taking institutional-grade technology and making it accessible to everyone.

Pool Fee

A pool fee is the charge or economic spread defined by a pool’s payout terms. It may be a stated percentage, a treatment of transaction fees, a withdrawal charge, a minimum-payout condition, or another arrangement. Read the current pool documentation and calculate the effect using the exact payout method rather than assuming a universal fee range.

PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares)

PPLNS is a family of payout methods that distributes a found block’s eligible value according to shares in a defined rolling window. The definition of N, treatment of fees, scoring, stale shares, fees, and payment timing are pool-specific. Participant returns retain pool-luck variance, unlike a fixed per-share arrangement, and should be evaluated from the pool’s current terms.

PPS+ (Pay Per Share Plus)

PPS+ commonly combines a stated per-share payment for the subsidy component with a separate pool-defined treatment of transaction fees. Names are not a complete contract: fees, fee allocation, thresholds, stale-share handling, timing, and counterparty exposure differ by pool. Review the pool’s current documentation before comparing it with FPPS or PPLNS.

Proof of Work (PoW)

Proof of work is Bitcoin’s mechanism for ordering valid competing block histories by accumulated work. Miners search for headers meeting the target; fully validating nodes independently enforce all consensus rules before accepting blocks. Producing a competing history requires valid proof of work and does not permit forged signatures or rule-invalid blocks. Confirmations reduce, rather than eliminate, reversal risk.

PSU (Power Supply Unit)

A power supply converts mains electricity to the DC input required by a specific miner. Input voltage, connector, polarity, current capacity, grounding, circuit loading, and certification are model-specific. Use only the supplied or manufacturer-approved PSU and cabling, verify the nameplate before energizing equipment, and do not make mains or high-current changes without qualified assistance where required.

R

Reorg (Chain Reorganization)

A chain reorganization occurs when a node changes its active tip to a competing valid chain with more accumulated work under its consensus rules. Short reorganizations can occur naturally, while deeper ones can have several causes including attacks or network disruption. Confirmations lower the chance of a payment being displaced but do not provide absolute finality.

S

Satoshi (sat)

The smallest unit of Bitcoin: 1 satoshi = 0.00000001 BTC (one hundred millionth of a bitcoin). Named after Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Mining payouts, especially from pools or small-scale operations, are often discussed in sats. When someone says a Bitaxe mines “a few hundred sats per day,” this is the unit they mean.

Satoshi Nakamoto

The pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, who published the Bitcoin whitepaper in October 2008, released the software in January 2009, and disappeared from public activity in 2011. Satoshi’s true identity remains unknown. The creation of Bitcoin is arguably the most important technological innovation of the 21st century.

SegWit (Segregated Witness)

A Bitcoin protocol upgrade activated in August 2017 that separates (segregates) the digital signature data (witness) from transaction data, effectively increasing the block capacity. SegWit also fixed the transaction malleability bug, enabling second-layer solutions like the Lightning Network. SegWit transactions use less block weight, resulting in lower fees.

SHA-256

The cryptographic hash function used in Bitcoin mining. SHA-256 takes any input and produces a fixed 256-bit (32-byte) output. The same input always produces the same output, but even a tiny change in input produces a completely different hash. Mining is the process of finding an input (block header with a specific nonce) that produces a SHA-256 hash below the current difficulty target. All Bitcoin ASIC miners are SHA-256 machines.

Share

In pool mining, a share is a hash submission from a miner that meets a lower difficulty threshold set by the pool (not the full network difficulty). Shares prove that the miner is working. Occasionally, a share will also meet the full network difficulty — that is when a block is found. Pools use shares to measure each miner’s contributed work and calculate payouts.

Shroud (ASIC Shroud)

An ASIC shroud or duct adapter directs airflow. It can alter static pressure, fan load, cooling performance, condensation risk, noise, and exhaust temperature. It is not universally required for home mining and must not obstruct required airflow or safety clearances. Use a model-compatible design and validate temperatures and fan monitoring under load before unattended operation.

Solo Mining

Solo mining means an operator attempts to find blocks without sharing block rewards through a conventional proportional pool. Direct solo mining requires the operator’s own compatible node, template, and submission path; a solo-pool service adds a third-party endpoint and terms. A successful accepted block pays its coinbase outputs according to the configured template, subject to any service fee. Discovery timing is highly variable.

Stratum (Stratum V1)

Stratum V1 is a widely deployed family of miner-to-pool protocols for assigning work and submitting shares. Classic V1 did not define a standardized encrypted transport, although deployments can use TLS, proxies, or extensions. In conventional pooled use, the pool or its template source controls the job; that is an operational arrangement, not a consensus rule.

Stratum V2

Stratum V2 is a protocol suite with binary framing, authenticated encryption support, and separate mining, template-distribution, and optional Job Declaration roles. It can enable custom-template workflows when the compatible roles, node access, and pool policy are present. A miner connected to SV2 does not automatically select transactions or construct a block template.

T

Target

A 256-bit number that a block’s hash must be less than for the block to be considered valid. The lower the target, the harder it is to find a valid hash, meaning higher difficulty. The target is encoded in the block header as the “nBits” field and is recalculated every 2,016 blocks during the difficulty adjustment.

TIDES (Transparent Index of Distinct Extended Shares)

TIDES is the name OCEAN uses for a pool-specific share-accounting and payout design. Its exact window, eligibility, fees, payout destination, fee treatment, and service dependencies are defined by OCEAN’s current documentation, not by a Bitcoin consensus rule. Verify those terms directly before treating any feature as non-custodial or permanent.

Transaction Fee

A transaction fee is the difference between a transaction’s input value and output value. A block producer may include eligible transactions and claim their fees in the coinbase transaction, subject to consensus rules. Fee rate and policy influence selection, but inclusion is not guaranteed and depends on the template provider’s policy and available block weight.

U

Underclocking (Undervolting)

Underclocking reduces operating frequency; undervolting reduces a voltage setting. They are related but not identical. Either can change hashrate, power, heat, noise, stability, reject rates, and efficiency, with no guaranteed improvement. Use documented firmware controls for the exact model and confirm temperatures, accepted work, and electrical limits after each change.

UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output)

The fundamental unit of Bitcoin accounting. Every piece of bitcoin you own is a UTXO — an unspent output from a previous transaction. When you spend bitcoin, you consume one or more UTXOs and create new ones. Miners should be aware of UTXO management: if your pool sends many tiny payouts, you accumulate many small UTXOs that become expensive to consolidate when fees are high.

V

Variance

Variance is the random fluctuation around an expected mining outcome. For direct solo mining it depends strongly on hash-rate share and block-discovery randomness. For pooled mining it also depends on the payout method, scoring window, pool luck, thresholds, fees, stale shares, uptime, and payment terms. Low variance is not the same as guaranteed income.

VNish

An aftermarket firmware for Antminer ASIC miners that offers autotuning, performance optimization, and additional management features. VNish, along with Braiins OS and LuxOS, represents the aftermarket firmware ecosystem that helps miners extract maximum efficiency from their hardware.

W

Watt (W) / Kilowatt (kW)

A watt is a unit of power and a kilowatt is 1,000 watts. Energy cost is usually billed in kilowatt-hours, calculated from measured AC-wall power multiplied by operating time and the applicable tariff. Use the exact miner nameplate and a suitable measurement method; do not infer a circuit, PSU, or operating cost from another model’s power figure.

Whatsminer

A line of Bitcoin ASIC miners manufactured by MicroBT, a Chinese hardware company. Whatsminer models (M30, M50, M60 series) compete directly with Bitmain’s Antminer series. MicroBT machines are generally well-regarded for reliability. Repair availability varies by model, condition, parts availability, and current service scope.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related: complete Bitcoin mining glossary

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