PPLNS payout window

Why accepted shares and earnings differ

A share records work contributed to the pool. Payment depends on a separate event: finding a valid Monero block. PPLNS divides that block reward among contributions that qualify at that moment.

This creates variance. Mining continuously increases the opportunities to contribute, but neither uninterrupted operation nor one accepted share establishes a fixed short-term return. Pool and network hashrates also affect the experience.

References: P2Pool project documentation

Window length is a configuration detail

The current P2Pool documentation describes a window of up to 2,160 pool blocks, roughly six hours at its target rate, with adjustment to balance payout size and frequency. The word up to matters, and actual elapsed time varies.

Use the software and sidechain documentation rather than copying a window from an unrelated pool. A dashboard should report eligible contribution separately from the total number of shares ever submitted.

References: P2Pool project documentation

Example

In an illustrative payout window, your shares represent 2% of the qualifying share difficulty. If P2Pool finds a block during that window, your contribution determines roughly that proportion of its distributed reward, subject to the implementation accounting.

References: P2Pool project documentation

Limits and cautions

A share can leave the window without a payout, or participate in several payouts. PPLNS does not promise a fixed payment per submitted share, and a short observation period can give a misleading earnings estimate.

References: P2Pool project documentation