Parasite Mining Pool Strikes Again, Finding Its Second Bitcoin Block

A novel bitcoin mining pool, Parasite Pool, has achieved its second block, demonstrating the effectiveness of its distinctive design. This pool, launched in April 2025, mined block 945,601 on Friday, about 48 days after its initial block at #938,713 in late February. The block contained 7,398 transactions and generated 0.002 BTC in fees, with bitcoin trading at $76,213 at the time. The pool operates on a unique hybrid model, where the winning miner receives 1 BTC, and the remaining 2.125 BTC plus fees are distributed proportionally among all participants based on their shares since the previous block. Notably, there are no fees for participating in this pool, and payouts are made through the Lightning Network. The mining process involves computers competing to solve a cryptographic puzzle every 10 minutes, with the winner earning the right to add the next block of transactions to the blockchain and receiving a reward. Currently, this reward is 3.125 BTC plus transaction fees, valued at approximately $238,000. The mining landscape is dominated by industrial operators with large-scale facilities, but Parasite Pool targets home miners. Founded by ZK Shark, the creator of the Ordinal Maxi Biz NFT collection on Bitcoin, Parasite Pool offers an alternative to traditional solo pools like CKpool, which pay the full block reward minus a fee to the finder. By splitting the difference, Parasite Pool preserves the lottery-style payday while ensuring participants receive satoshis during the periods between blocks. The pool's hashrate currently stands at 52 petahashes per second, and its proportional distribution mechanics have been validated twice. If Parasite Pool can find a third block within the next two months, it would solidify the case for its hybrid model, while a six-month drought would suggest the first two blocks were exceptional cases.