How is PPLNS calculated for AntPool?

[jaybee888]

Hello. I read that AntPool PPLNS pays reward depending on last N difficulty shares, but I cannot find anywhere what N is. Can you please tell me what is (approximate) time duration of "last N difficulty rounds"? Or does anyone know reward calculation formula for AntPool PPLNS?

[kano]

You missed the part where they keep all the transaction fees.
Their PPLNS is the worst PPLNS possible.

[mikeywith]

You missed the part where they keep all the transaction fees.

Given how low the rewards have been for a while now, it makes Antpool one of the cheapest if not the cheapest PPLNS pool as of now, but I think everyone agrees that Antpool sucks, I wouldn't use it even if it had 0% fees on PPS+.

[kano]

You missed the part where they keep all the transaction fees.

Given how low the rewards have been for a while now, it makes Antpool one of the cheapest if not the cheapest PPLNS pool as of now, but I think everyone agrees that Antpool sucks, I wouldn't use it even if it had 0% fees on PPS+.

Alas assuming there's no future to bitcoin doesn't really work for anyone.
The fees maybe be low 'now' but the majority of the last 5 years and the majority of the future that definitely wont be the case.

[jaybee888]

Thanks for responses, I see a lot of criticism on AntPool, but no explanation how PPLNS is calculated :-)

Anyway, can you help me a bit? I understand that PPLNS is based on last number of shares per period. What I read somewhere else it may be "2.5 difficulty rounds", which seems strange to me, because it would be about 5 weeks. I assume it is a rather 2.5 block rounds, which would be some 25 minutes. Can anyone clear that?

If PPLNS is based in shares in the past and PPS is also based on amout of shares that the miner puts in the system, where is the difference then?

[kano]

All PPS is paying each share an amount that must include a fee of around 3%
(if the pool uses a lower fee it has a high chance of going bankrupt)
This has zero variance but lower expected reward - the pool covers the mining variance with it's wallet - thus it must have a sizeable wallet.
That's explained here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=104664.msg48795003#msg48795003

PPLNS is simply when a block is found, the miners are rewarded for their % of the last N shares on the pool.
i.e. PPLNS means pay per last N shares
The N value is up to the pool, but it must be chosen so that miners can't easily game the rewards
(i.e. get more reward per share than everyone else on the pool)
This has variance dependent upon the pool size, but higher expected reward as long as the pool isn't charging a high fee like PPS.
Most PPLNS includes the transaction fees in the reward, but Antpoo doesn't.

... and for those who think variance means a loss, no, it doesn't.
It means up and down i.e. sometimes more and sometimes less.

[jaybee888]

And does anyone know what is the N for AntPool, or what is time period of N?

[jaybee888]

So if I understand well, in PPLNS it actually does not matter whether the block is or is not found while I push shares to the pool. All that matters is how many shares I push to the pool over period of time and then I am getting rewards after blocks are found. I do not need to hit the block, I only need to provide shares, right?

[philipma1957]

So if I understand well, in PPLNS it actually does not matter whether the block is or is not found while I push shares to the pool. All that matters is how many shares I push to the pool over period of time and then I am getting rewards after blocks are found. I do not need to hit the block, I only need to provide shares, right?

okay if you are not mining your shares drop off.

so you will be punished if you stopped mining on the pool.