Parasite Mining Pool Finds Second Bitcoin Block, Validates Hybrid Model

The innovative Parasite Pool has achieved a significant milestone by mining its second Bitcoin block, numbered 945,601, on Friday, roughly 48 days after its first block at #938,713 in late February. This block contained 7,398 transactions and 0.002 BTC in fees, with bitcoin trading at $76,213 at the time of mining. The pool operates on a distinctive 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 their shares submitted since the previous block. Notably, there are no fees to participate in this pool, and payouts are made through the Lightning Network. By securing bitcoin through a competitive cryptographic puzzle every 10 minutes, mining ensures the integrity of the blockchain. The current reward for mining a block is 3.125 BTC, plus transaction fees, valued at approximately $238,000 at Friday's price. Founded by ZK Shark, the creator of Ordinal Maxi Biz, an NFT collection on Bitcoin, Parasite targets home miners and offers an alternative to the dominant industrial operators and pure solo pools. The pool's approach splits the difference between these two models, preserving the lottery-style payday for the winning miner while ensuring satoshis are distributed to participants during the periods between blocks. With its hashrate currently at 52 petahashes per second, down from a peak of 182 PH/s in June 2025, Parasite's second block carries significant weight, as it demonstrates the pool's ability to retain hashrate and validate its proportional distribution mechanics. As the pattern around solo and small-pool mining continues to gain attention, Parasite's hybrid model is being tested as a viable alternative.