Glossary: USB Miner
A USB miner is a compact cryptocurrency mining device that plugs into a USB port and performs basic hash calculations with minimal power usage.
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Glossary: NerdMiner
A DIY Bitcoin mining device built from cheap microcontrollers like ESP32 boards that solo mines with extremely low hashrate for educational purposes.
Glossary: Undervolting
Reducing GPU or ASIC voltage to lower power consumption while maintaining hashrate, improving efficiency and reducing heat.
Glossary: DAG Size
The memory file used by Ethash algorithm GPUs that grows over time, determining minimum VRAM requirements for mining certain cryptocurrencies.
Glossary: Thermal Throttling
When mining hardware automatically reduces performance to prevent overheating and damage from excessive heat buildup.
Glossary: Lottery Mining
A nickname for solo mining that compares it to playing the lottery — you have a tiny chance of winning big with each block attempt.
Glossary: Variance
Mining variance is the randomness in when you find blocks — you might get lucky and find one early, or go way longer than expected without winning.
Glossary: Solo Block
A solo block is a block you mined completely on your own without sharing the reward with a mining pool—the ultimate win in solo mining.
Glossary: Network Hashrate
Network hashrate is the total computing power of all miners working on a blockchain at any given time, measured in hashes per second.
Glossary: Stratum Protocol
The stratum protocol is a communication standard that lets mining hardware talk to pools or nodes efficiently, sending work and receiving shares.