Chia Network recently hosted a video conference titled "Chia Pools for Pool Operators," where founder Bram Cohen and team members shared key updates about the upcoming official farming pool protocol. They explained its design principles, operational mechanisms, and technical background, confirming that the protocol will launch soon.
The Chia team aims to prevent any single farming pool from dominating the network. Even if large pools emerge, the protocol ensures they cannot act maliciously.
Mariano S., one of Chia’s lead engineers for the pool protocol, highlighted a critical difference from traditional Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining pools. In PoW, pools typically create blocks and control reward distribution, giving them significant power. In Chia’s approach, block creation and reward distribution are separated: farming pools only handle reward distribution, collecting rewards from farmers and distributing them proportionally.
Farmers can run their own full nodes or rely on third-party nodes for assistance.
Core Principles of Chia’s Farming Pool Design
Farmer Security
Farmers never need to share private keys with pools. All keys remain stored locally. This eliminates the risk of key exposure.
In PoW, miners contribute hash power without involving private keys, making cheating difficult. But Chia’s Proof-of-Space (PoS) relies on cryptographic signatures, creating a risk that farmers could sign for multiple pools simultaneously. To prevent this, the pool protocol incorporates advanced cryptographic methods, making it more complex but secure.
Pool Security
Plots are cryptographically bound to a smart contract that specifies a pool. This prevents farmers from cheating. The 1.75/0.25 reward split also protects against inter-pool attacks: 1.75 XCH goes to the pool for distribution, while 0.25 XCH goes directly to the farmer who won the block.
Initially, the team considered embedding pool addresses directly into plots. However, this would have locked farmers into a single pool, reducing flexibility and encouraging centralization. Instead, using smart contracts to link plots to pools offers both security and freedom.
Decentralized Block Creation
Farmers can choose to operate their own full nodes, supporting network decentralization, or use delegated nodes.
Easy Pool Switching
Farmers can change pools without replotting. The process is on-chain and requires no usernames, passwords, or registrations.
Simplified Blockchain Backup
If a farmer uses multiple devices with the same key, joining a pool on one device automatically configures the others. No manual setup is needed.
Understanding Singletons
Each Singleton is a unique on-chain object, similar to an NFT. New Chia plots include a Singleton payment address.
To create a Singleton, users spend a genesis coin (any Chia coin) from their wallet. This transaction records the Singleton on the blockchain, including pool details like the address, URL, and public key.
To update Singleton information, users spend the existing Singleton to create a new one with the same ID. This effectively replaces the old Singleton.
When a block reward is earned, the 1.75 XCH pool share is sent to a pay-to-singleton puzzle. Only the pool can claim these funds.
To switch pools, users create a new Singleton with the new pool’s details. After a brief period, the change takes effect. Pools track membership by scanning Singleton data on the blockchain.
Beta Version Demo
Each Pool Tab represents a Singleton. It displays information such as the pool name, URL, rewards earned, current difficulty, and points balance.
Users can create their own pool (rewards go directly to their wallet) or join an existing one. To join a pool, users enter the pool’s address into the "Connect to pool" field. The interface then displays pool details for verification, helping users avoid malicious pools.
The new points system assigns points based on contributed difficulty. For example, a farmer with difficulty 1000 receives 1000 points. This helps pools track contributions transparently.
During plotting, users can select "Join a Pool" and choose a Singleton linked to a specific pool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I use one plot to join multiple pools?
A: No. Each plot is bound to one Singleton, which can only point to a single pool at a time.
Q: Can a pool ban a user?
A: Yes. Since the Singleton ID is encrypted in the plot, a pool can refuse to reward a user. However, users can always switch to another pool.
Q: Can a pool steal rewards?
A: Malicious pools could potentially withhold rewards within the payment interval (three days). It’s important to choose reputable pools. Users can switch pools if they suspect fraudulent behavior.
Q: How do I use a Singleton?
A: Use Chia’s graphical interface to create a Singleton by linking a plot NFT. Users without Chia or mojos can obtain them from the official faucet (faucet.chia.net) or from friends.
Q: Is there a limit on farm size per user?
A: No. Farm size and proof difficulty are independent. A large farm with high difficulty might generate the same number of daily proofs as a small farm.
Q: Do multiple Singletons require separate logins?
A: In the current version, yes. This is the first release; future updates may streamline the process.
Q: Can the 1.75/0.25 reward split be changed?
A: No. This ratio is hardcoded into the protocol consensus. It prevents large pools from attacking smaller ones and ensures fair reward distribution. Transaction fees go directly to farmers to encourage decentralized block creation. The ratio remains constant even after halving events.
Q: Who sets the minimum payout threshold?
A: Each pool sets its own rules, including minimum payouts.
Q: Is proof opportunity linearly related to difficulty?
A: Yes, it is linear. Time Lord speed is generally constant, so the relationship holds.
Q: Will the reward system change? Can Chia ban pools? Is Chia decentralized?
A: The reward system is fixed. All current features are implemented at Layer 2, with no plans for hard or soft forks. Chia is decentralized; the team cannot ban pools. The network is designed to be community-controlled, with multiple pools competing healthily.
Development is progressing rapidly due to high demand. The team is working to release the pool protocol as soon as possible after thorough testing.
Q: Can anyone start a pool?
A: Yes, but operating a pool requires technical expertise and compliance with regulations like KYC/AML. Chia will not run an official pool, encouraging a competitive ecosystem.
The team will not announce a launch date in advance. Instead, the protocol will go live on the mainnet after successful testnet运行 without major bugs for at least three days.