Parasite Mining Pool Strikes Gold Again with Second Bitcoin Block

A novel Bitcoin mining pool, designed to challenge traditional pay-per-share and pure lottery models, has achieved its second block. Parasite Pool, which launched in April 2025, mined block 945,601 on Friday, roughly 48 days after its first block at #938,713 in late February. The block contained 7,398 transactions and 0.002 BTC in fees, with Bitcoin trading at $76,213 at the time. This pool operates on a hybrid model, where the winning miner receives 1 BTC, and the remaining 2.125 BTC plus fees are distributed proportionally among all pool participants based on shares submitted since the previous block. With no fees to participate and payouts routed through the Lightning Network, this model aims to provide a more equitable distribution of rewards. The pool's founder, ZK Shark, targets home miners, and its design has sparked interest in the mining community. By splitting the difference between traditional models, Parasite Pool preserves the lottery-style payday for the block finder while keeping the satoshis flowing to participants during the stretches between blocks. The pool's hashrate currently sits at 52 petahashes per second, and its proportional distribution mechanics have been validated twice. As the mining landscape continues to evolve, Parasite Pool's hybrid model will be closely watched to see if it can sustain participation and provide a viable alternative to traditional mining pools.