Once the heavyweight champion of Ethereum mining pools, Ethermine helped connect thousands of miners to one of crypto's most lucrative networks. Even after Ethereum's shift to proof-of-stake, the platform still plays a major role in the mining ecosystem. Here's a clear, no-fluff breakdown of what Ethermine is, how it works, and where it stands today.

What Is Ethermine?

Ethermine is a cryptocurrency mining pool that launched in 2016 and quickly became the largest Ethereum pool by hashrate. It was operated by Bitfly, an Austrian blockchain infrastructure company also known for its popular mining dashboard, etherchain.org. For years, Ethermine's server architecture carried a significant slice of the entire Ethereum network's mining power.

The pool runs on the PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares) reward system, which distributes block rewards based on the shares miners contribute. Unlike PPS pools that pay a fixed reward per share, PPLNS rewards miners more fairly over time, especially those who stay connected through lucky rounds.

How Ethermine Works

Joining Ethermine is straightforward, which is part of why it attracted both hobbyists and industrial-scale miners. The general flow looks like this:

  • Miners point their rig's mining software to one of Ethermine's stratum servers.
  • The pool combines hashrate from thousands of participants to solve blocks faster.
  • When a block is found, rewards are split based on contributed shares minus the pool fee.
  • Payouts are sent automatically once a miner's balance crosses the configured threshold.

Ethermine historically supported multiple geographic regions, including servers in Europe, North America, and Asia, allowing miners to choose the closest endpoint for reduced latency. The pool's real-time stats page — showing hashrate, active workers, and payout history — became a daily destination for serious miners.

Ethermine After Ethereum's Merge

When Ethereum completed The Merge in September 2022, the network abandoned proof-of-work entirely. Overnight, Ethereum mining became unprofitable, and Ethermine had to reinvent itself. The platform's response was quick and pragmatic:

  • Ethereum Classic (ETC) — the largest Ethash coin still minable after the Merge — became the new focus.
  • Ethash-based altcoins like Ethash, ETChash, and other GPU-mineable tokens kept the pool operational.
  • Bitfly redirected its monitoring tools to track ETC and similar networks.

For miners holding fleets of GPUs, the pivot was a lifeline. Ethermine's familiar interface, payout structure, and reliability made the migration relatively painless compared to jumping to an entirely new pool.

Can You Still Mine Ethereum on Ethermine?

No — at least not through proof-of-work. Miners who want exposure to ETH now must do so through staking, exchanges, or DeFi yield strategies. Ethermine's infrastructure is purpose-built for mining, not staking, so the platform no longer supports ETH rewards in any direct mining capacity.

Fees, Payouts, and Transparency

Ethermine built its reputation on competitive fees and clean reporting. The pool historically charged 1% on mining rewards, which sits at the lower end of the industry range. Payouts were processed automatically once a miner crossed the minimum threshold — usually around 0.05 ETH (or its ETC equivalent) — with minimal fuss.

What made Ethermine especially attractive was its transparency. Miners could see:

  • Real-time hashrate and worker status
  • Historical payout records
  • Network difficulty and block times
  • Detailed earnings calculators

These tools are still available on the Bitfly ecosystem, even if the underlying asset being mined has changed.

Is Ethermine Still Worth Using?

The answer depends entirely on what you're trying to mine. For Ethereum Classic miners, Ethermine remains one of the most established pools, offering stable payouts and a battle-tested infrastructure. The downside is concentration risk — when one pool dominates a network's hashrate, the decentralized ideal of mining takes a hit.

Miners who prefer diversified options can also consider alternatives like F2Pool, Nanopool, or Hiveon, each with its own fee structure and reward model. Comparing payout schemes, server latency, and community trust is always worth the few minutes it takes before committing hashrate.

Key Takeaways

  • Ethermine was the largest Ethereum mining pool before the network moved to proof-of-stake.
  • It runs on a PPLNS reward system with a historically low 1% fee.
  • After The Merge, the pool pivoted to Ethereum Classic and other Ethash coins.
  • It is no longer possible to mine ETH through Ethermine directly.
  • For GPU miners still active in 2026, Ethermine remains a respected but centralized option worth comparing against compe*****s.