Beginner miners often join a mining pool to more quickly learn the process of cryptocurrency mining and start earning income. The new law introduced the concept of a "mining pool" and defined its regulation.
What is a mining pool? A mining pool is a combination of mining equipment capacities owned by different individuals. The organizer of a mining pool is the entity providing services to combine these capacities and distributing the earned cryptocurrency among the participants.
How do mining pools work? In a classic mining pool, there is a coordinator who ensures the stable operation of all participants and the fair distribution of rewards.
There are different payment schemes: ☑ Pay-Per-Share (PPS) – the miner receives a fixed payment for their share (hashrate), regardless of whether a block is found. The coordinator assumes the risks and usually takes a commission. ☑ Pay-Per-Last-N-Shares (PPLNS) – the reward is paid only when a block is found and distributed proportionally to each miner's contribution.
Registration of mining pool operators The organizer of a mining pool must be registered with the Federal Tax Service (FTS) as a mining infrastructure operator. This is done through the "MiningRegistry" service on the FTS website.
For registration, the following is required: ☑ An application with a contract with the energy supply organization attached. ☑ Documents confirming the presence of higher education. ☑ Documents regarding employment activities (for legal entities). ☑ A contract between the operator and the miners (when submitting data about the miners).
Restrictions and obligations ☑ Organizers of mining pools must meet the requirements for business reputation. ☑ Individuals with an unsatisfied or unexpired criminal record for certain offenses are not allowed. ☑ The organizer can be an individual entrepreneur, legal entity, or even an individual. ☑ Operators must provide tax authorities with mining data no later than the 25th day of the month following the reporting quarter. ☑ Pool participants must register themselves and declare their income.
Conclusion If all requirements are met, the operation of mining pools in Russia is legal.