⚡⚡ 500 sats reward for the best explanation of the 'Best Difficulty' metric on Bitaxe and how it relates to mining a block! ⚡⚡
Discussion
The Best Difficulty on Bitaxe is the highest difficulty share your miner has found. It shows how close you got to solving a block higher means better performance and luck! ⚡⛏️
So, does it need to reach the Bitcoin Difficulty (114.17 T at Block 884,226) to mine a block?
the "Best Difficulty" metric on Bitaxe refers to the highest difficulty share that a miner has submitted to the pool while mining. It represents the most difficult proof of work found by the miner, even if it doesn't meet the full network difficulty required to mine a block.
If I check later tonight and see that my 'Best Diff' is 114.17T (the current Bitcoin difficulty), does this mean I've successfully mined a block?
Not necessarily. If your Best Difficulty matches the current Bitcoin network difficulty (114.17T in this case), it means you've found a share that meets or exceeds the difficulty required to mine a valid block.
So, while reaching 114.17T is a strong indicator of success, you’ll need to check if your block was actually accepted into the Bitcoin blockchain!
That's really helpful, thank you. A few more questions:
Can the 'Best Diff' be thought of as your highest complexity solved share?
Is it correct to say that all shares are not equal?
For example, is it correct to say that the higher the difficulty of a solved share, the greater the chance that the share will be accepted as a block?
Yes! The Best Difficulty represents the most difficult share your miner has found and submitted. In other words, it's the highest difficulty hash your miner has computed that was still below the network target (or pool target if you're using a mining pool).
The Best Difficulty represents the most complex share your miner has successfully solved and submitted. Not all shares are equal shares vary in difficulty, with higher-difficulty shares being rarer and more valuable.
A share’s difficulty determines its significance... low-difficulty shares help pools track miner contributions but don't contribute to finding a block.
High-difficulty shares indicate that the miner is closer to discovering a block.
If a share's difficulty meets or exceeds the Bitcoin network difficulty, it becomes a valid block, meaning the miner has successfully mined a block. The higher the difficulty of a share, the greater its chance of being accepted as a full block.
I had to conclude with a friend
-Mining Shares & Difficulty: When mining, a device like Bitaxe repeatedly hashes block headers to find a hash below a target difficulty set by the mining pool. The lower the hash, the higher the difficulty of the share.
Best Difficulty as a Benchmark.. Best Difficulty tracks the most significant share a miner has found. While it may not be enough to solve a full block, it shows progress and capability.
Winning a Block... If a miner finds a hash below the Bitcoin network's current target difficulty, they successfully mine a block and receive the full block reward.
Best Difficulty is an indicator of mining efficiency and luck, showcasing how close a miner has come to solving a block.
Is there a prize for quantity of explanations, not just quality?
Asking for a friend in this feed 😂
Quality over quantity every time!
The "Best Difficulty" metric on a Bitaxe (or any other Bitcoin mining device) represents the most difficult valid share the miner has found so far during its operation. It helps gauge the effectiveness of the miner in searching for a valid hash.
How It Relates to Bitcoin Mining
Bitcoin mining involves repeatedly hashing block headers to find a hash that is below the target difficulty. The difficulty target is set by the network and adjusts every 2016 blocks (~2 weeks) to maintain an average 10-minute block time.
Breaking It Down:
Nonce Searching:
The miner generates hashes using different nonces, aiming for a hash that is below the network difficulty target.
Finding Shares:
Mining pools use a lower difficulty than the network difficulty to distribute work. Miners submit shares (hashes below this lower pool difficulty) as proof of work.
Best Difficulty (Highest Quality Share):
Each hash a miner produces has a certain difficulty, determined by how low it is compared to the highest possible hash (max target).
The Best Difficulty metric on the Bitaxe shows the hardest (lowest) hash found so far.
If a miner were solo mining and this hash were below the Bitcoin network difficulty, it would result in a block being mined.
Key Takeaways:
Best Difficulty tracks your miner's best proof-of-work effort—the most competitive hash it has found.
If Best Difficulty > Bitcoin Network Difficulty, you've mined a block!
For pool mining, it shows how close your miner has come to finding a block.
Higher values indicate the miner is working effectively and submitting valuable shares.
Best Difficulty on Bitaxe is the measure of your miner's best (lowest) hash found. It shows how close you are to meeting the network's difficulty target. If your best hash meets that target, you've effectively mined a block.
So what is the current difficulty for a block?
In Bitcoin mining, *hashrate* measures the computational power used to solve cryptographic puzzles, while *difficulty* is adjusted every 2016 blocks (roughly every two weeks) to maintain an average block time of 10 minutes—rising when the overall hashrate increases and falling when it decreases.
For solo miners, the challenge lies in balancing their limited hashrate against that of the entire network. Unlike pool mining—where miners earn rewards for submitting partial solutions (shares)—solo miners must find a complete block hash that meets the network’s difficulty target. This target is a specific 256-bit number that every miner’s hash must fall below for the block to be accepted. Currently, that target is equivalent to a difficulty of 114.17 T. In other words, there isn’t a separate or lower difficulty threshold for solo miners; every miner must produce a hash below the same network-set target.
If the difficulty is too high relative to a solo miner’s hashrate, their chances of successfully mining a complete block—and thus earning the full block reward—become significantly lower.