FAQ
Using Zappool
When is the payout?
Payouts are scheduled once daily, at noon UTC time.
Is there a minimum payout amount?
Yes. We use 5 sats as the minimum payout amount. If that amount is not reached, it will be accumulated.
Get me up to speed from zero! I don't know anything about Lightning or Nostr, I just have a Bitaxe
We encourage you to start learning about Lightning and Nostr!
Here is the absolute starter kit:
- Install Wallet of Satoshi lightning wallet
- Take your lightning address from WoS (Receive tab), ex.
something@walletofsatoshi.com - Open your Bitaxe config
- For Stratum host and port enter
pool.zappool.organd23334 - For username enter your lightning address, with "LNAD:" in front and all '.' dots changed to '_' underscores -- ex.
LNAD:something@walletofsatoshi_com
But please check the rest of the docs, and the basics of the wallet and the Bitaxe.
What fees are collected?
Zappool does not take any fees (as of now, Zappool beta). Note however, that Ocean pool takes its fee -- 1% (for users with Datum).
We don't plan to charge a fee, but it may happen in the future.
Where can I see stats?
Here: https://dashboard.zappool.org/
You can see your own stats if you log in (with your npub).
Should I use my personal Nostr account, or create a new?
It depends on your privacy-paranoia level.
The recommended simple way is to use your 'regular' Nostr npub. However, it will be visible that you are mining on Zappool (your payout zaps, etc.). For most, you should be proud of this, not hide it!
If privacy is important, you can easily create a new Nostr identity, link it with a Lightning wallet, and use that with Zappool. Don't forget to back up your keys, though!
See also: privacy.
Why does it take so long to find a work share?
Ocean uses a relatively large share difficulty (128k). Modern industrial miners can solve this difficulty in seconds, but for a lower-hashrate Bitaxe it takes minutes. The time has a wide variation due to luck, it can be as low as less than a minute, but it can be as high as 30 minutes. This, however does not affect the overall performance of the miner.
Can I use Zappool with a more powerful miner as well?
Yes you can. The focus is on small miners, but it works with larger ones as well.
Can I get paid to my Nostr account without the Zap event?
If you want the payouts to your Nostr lightning address without the Zap events, you can:
- Prefix your username by "NOLN:". Example:
NOLN:npub17qt0gf99uxe3n3aa8nj93hspe0x3vfn7wwmv42adfc96y8g8ngcqpakg7l(NOLNis short for Nostr Lightning); - or [not implemented] Set the desired payment method in your nostr-user-setting to "Nostr Lightning Address"
NOLN.
Can I get paid to a lightning address without any Nostr hoopla?
It is possible, though for the full Zappool experience using of a Nostr account is strongly recommended.
It's possible to set a lightning address as username (instead of an npub), with the following important details:
- the dot '.' characters has to be changed to underscore '_' (because dot is used as the separator for the device)
- it has to be prefixed with "LNAD:" (5 characters)
Example: LNAD:zappool@blink_sv or LNAD:zappool@blink_sv.device.
Do I get the block reward, if I happen to find a block?
No. Zappool uses pooled mining, not solo mining -- you can't have both.
In solo mining most miners get nothing most of the time, but in the very unlikely case someone finds a block, he gets the whole block reward. In pooled mining (used by most miners), miners share the rewards proportionally to their hash power.
What are the privacy considerations?
If you are worried about privacy, consider using a custom Nostr identity for this, see above.
Zappool can see your IP, use VPN if concerned (router level).
Zappool does not store client IP addresses.
Zappool stores the configured miner username (and device name), and time for each submitted work share, for operational accounting.
Can I donate to someone else using Zappool?
Absolutely! You can donate the earnings from your miner to another Nostr user easily (and without permission). Just set the npub of the target user account as user ID in yout miner.
Consider giving back to the creators of Bitaxe, Nostr, Lightning, etc.
Hint: Zappool's npub is npub17qt0gf99uxe3n3aa8nj93hspe0x3vfn7wwmv42adfc96y8g8ngcqpakg7l, wink-wink 😉
Is it possible to direct the zaps to a Nostr note (instead of the npub)?
No, that's currently not supported (but it may be in the future).
About Zappool
What is the status of this project?
Zappool is currently live (as of Jan'26). The beta version launched in October 2025.
Is Zappool custodial?
Yes, but for short time and small amounts. Zappool receives payouts from Ocean, and pays out to users daily. Should Zapool rug you or fail, you risk one day worth of mining rewards, which is typically a rather small amount.
Why Ocean is used as mother pool?
There are two main reasons:
- Ocean pool is large enough, with well over 1% of global hashrate, finding blocks daily on average (in the range of 8-14 blocks per week).
- Ocean is permissionless and private.
Moreover, Ocean allows custom block templates as well.
Also note that for Lightning payouts (which Zappool uses) Ocean is plain custodial.
Is Zappool open source?
Yes, the software can be found here: github.com/zappool.
It includes the modified Ocean datum service, the backend components, and the web page.
What block template is used?
Zappool controls the block template being used (using Ocean with Datum, the runner of Datum is in control of the block template).
We try to stay away of the Core-vs-Knots drama (please don't start a flame war, this is a loud-but-insignificant debate).
Zappool currently uses a Bitcoin Core node (ver. 29, with customized config).
In the future we may offer different block template options (e.g. Bitcoin Core and Knots).
Where is the Zappool server located?
The pool server is located in North America, Eastern side. In the future we may offer servers in other regions (e.g. Europe), for lower latency (if justified by usage).
What's the goal of this project?
There's more than one goal:
- Offer a very low-barrier way for home miners to earn daily sats (as opposed to lottery mining)
- Demonstrate the feasability of the concept by growing to a respectable number of real users (a thousand npubs?)
- Prove the value of the Nostr-homeminers synergy
- Nudge other pools towards Nostr integration
- Show a working example of a proxy-pool, and help others start one (currently I don't know of any other one)
- Encourage both Nostr and Bitaxe usage
Who is behind Zappool?
Zappool has been started by Optout.
What's the story behind Zappool?
After looking at the Hashpool project (of vnprc), I saw two avenues:
Build a new pool from scratch, starting with small hashrates (=very long times for finding a block), and bridge the long times with a local market for hash-ehash (custodial but blinded, option to early exit via market)
Create a proxy pool, based on Ocean, with periodic payouts from Ocean.
Thinking about 2, I realized that there is not much need for a hash market, nor for ecash in fact, as there is no long period to bridge.
I turned my focus to a proxy pool, which is old-style custodial, but only for a day (and small user amounts). I also realized there is a lot of synergy with Nostr!
For home miners, zapping away is a perfect and fun usecase of the the small daily payouts. Miner ID being a Nostr ID also opens up many possibilites -- payout to LN address of the npub, payout as zap, donation to someone else's npub, payout as nutzap, nostr login to your bitaxe, etc.
I put a proof-of-concept together, and launched the beta version in October 2025.
Which account sends out the zaps?
The payout zaps are sent by this npub: npub13dhzxxqatedrn2ccxnelgahr82kcaadz0ydtqutesztvgu3fvfash5k4ya. This is a technical account, different from the Zappool Nostr account(npub17qt0gf99uxe3n3aa8nj93hspe0x3vfn7wwmv42adfc96y8g8ngcqpakg7l). Zaps can be seen e.g. here: https://www.fatzaps.com/npub13dhzxxqatedrn2ccxnelgahr82kcaadz0ydtqutesztvgu3fvfash5k4ya .
Are there any blocks found by Zappool miners?
No, not to my knowledge. The chances are currently astronomically low, but not zero!
General Mining-related
What alternative pools are there?
For solo mining, two popular pools are:
CKPool solo.ckpool.org
Public Pool web.public-pool.io
For pooled mining, I can recommend Braiins (pool.braiins.com): LN payouts are possible, but it's a traditional pool with registration. (Trivia: Did you know that they were the first mining pool ever?)
Can I make even with my Bitaxe (using Zappool)?
Short answer: no. Even with pooled mining, you will not be able to recover the cost of your Bitaxe You may earn enough to recover the cost of the electricity used (depending on your power price).
Bitaxe is not about making money from mining, but about mining decentralization and learning. If you want profit, you need big miners, and access to a huge amounts of cheap electricity, and face a fierce competition.
So forget about profits, relax, and zap away your earned sats!
What is a Proxy Pool?
A proxy pool is a pool, but it uses another pool -- the 'mother pool' -- as a regular mining client: it submits work shares and receives earnings. To its clients the proxy pool appears as a mining pool: it provides work, accepts shares, and distributes earnings.
The proxy pool forwards work shares to the mother pool, and disrtributes its earnings to its clients.
A proxy pool makes sense if its mode of operation -- e.g. payout mechanism -- differs from the mother pool.
TODO
Accounting, fluctuation
Why is it paying less than Braiins?
Bridge loan by Zappool (not if daily payments)
Stratum v2?
money for the pool?