<p>1% of 12.5BTC is not 1.25BTC 12.5 × .01 = .125BTC.  But yes, your reward would be proportional to the total amount of work done. If you only did 1% of the shares, you get 1% of the reward.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-26T20:23:54.017Z
2018-01-26T20:23:54.017Z
Ano
<p>A share is a hash smaller than the target for difficulty of 1* (see clarification at end).  Every hash created has a 1 in ~4 billion (2^32) chance of being a valid share.  In comparison if the difficulty of network is 2,000,000 then a share is 2 million times "easier" to find than a valid hash for the block, and on average it will take 2 million shares (8 quadrillion hashes) to find a valid hash for the block.</p>

<p><strong>Shares have no actual "value".</strong>  To the bitcoin network they are worthless.  The only hash with any value is the one that is smaller than the target (determined by difficulty).  </p>

<p>Since a miner has no control over when he will generate a share (they occur randomly roughly once per 2^32 hashes) he can't cheat the pool.  When one miner in the pool finds the solution hash (the only hash worth anything) rewards can then be split by number of shares submitted.  There are multiple reward methods (Proportional, PPLNS, SMPSS, PPS, etc) that calculate the "fair share" of the reward but all use a share as a proxy for work completed by the miner.</p>

<p><strong>It is important to emphasize that a share has no actual value.  The only hash with value is the one that solves a block.  A share is merely an accounting method to keep the miners honest and fairly divide any rewards earned by the pool.</strong></p>

<p>There is no need to keep track of shares in solo mining because you will not split the reward and can't cheat yourself.</p>

<ul>
<li>Usually pools use a difficulty of 1 as the target for a share.  Technically any difficulty (less than network difficulty) could be used.  Each miner's share of the reward would remain the same regardless of what difficulty is used.</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-10T07:35:49.210Z
Why do pools use a different difficulty than 'the' difficulty?
Kinnard Hockenhull
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-13T05:01:15.640Z
Because the goal is to track work attempted in a verifable manner.  If a pool used a difficulty equal to the block difficulty then only one share would be found per block and it would be found by the miner who solves the block.  All rewards would go to the single share holder and essentially you invented a long complex round about way of solo mining.

Another way to look at it is lets say block difficulty is 20 million if a pool uses difficulty 1 shares then on average 20 million pool shares will be found per block found.  The reward of the block is divided up among the 20 million shares.
DeathAndTaxes
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-17T04:16:50.703Z
Who validates the share? That would also require significant computational resources right?
Raunak Thomas
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-27T19:36:21.923Z
Doesn't the pool just keep a count of the accepted shares you submit? If my accepted shares are 1% of all accepted shares, then I should get 1% of the reward less pool fees. If the block reward is 12.5 BTC, then I should get 1.25 BTC or split based on the agreed upon reward share system.
Sun
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-12T04:19:02.780Z
@RaunakThomas: No, validating a share, just like validating a block, is a very easy straightforward operation that involves a few hashes and basic math.  The hard part is ***finding*** a share.
abelenky
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-12T10:02:56.760Z
@abelenky Ok, because if it would have taken time there would have been a significant risk of a DDoS attack by flooding the network with random values
Raunak Thomas
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-16T18:52:27.223Z
Does the worker that actually solves the block get paid more in most scenarios?
Todd Vance
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-13T15:53:44.660Z
2012-02-11T08:44:54.540Z
2012-02-11T08:44:54.540Z
DeathAndTaxes
<p>In mining, what is "a share"?
When mining solo, do I "find shares"?</p>

<mining-pools><solo-mining><terminology><mining-pool-shares>
What is a share? Can I find it while mining solo, or only when pool mining?
ripper234
# What is a share? Can I find it while mining solo, or only when pool mining?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2011-10-13)

In mining, what is "a share"?
When mining solo, do I "find shares"?

**Tags:** mining-pools, solo-mining, terminology, mining-pool-shares


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2011-10-13. Score: 51 | Accepted answer

A share is a hash smaller than the target for difficulty of 1\* (see clarification at end). Every hash created has a 1 in ~4 billion (2^32) chance of being a valid share. In comparison if the difficulty of network is 2,000,000 then a share is 2 million times "easier" to find than a valid hash for the block, and on average it will take 2 million shares (8 quadrillion hashes) to find a valid hash for the block.

**Shares have no actual "value".** To the bitcoin network they are worthless. The only hash with any value is the one that is smaller than the target (determined by difficulty).

Since a miner has no control over when he will generate a share (they occur randomly roughly once per 2^32 hashes) he can't cheat the pool. When one miner in the pool finds the solution hash (the only hash worth anything) rewards can then be split by number of shares submitted. There are multiple reward methods (Proportional, PPLNS, SMPSS, PPS, etc) that calculate the "fair share" of the reward but all use a share as a proxy for work completed by the miner.

**It is important to emphasize that a share has no actual value. The only hash with value is the one that solves a block. A share is merely an accounting method to keep the miners honest and fairly divide any rewards earned by the pool.**

There is no need to keep track of shares in solo mining because you will not split the reward and can't cheat yourself.

* Usually pools use a difficulty of 1 as the target for a share. Technically any difficulty (less than network difficulty) could be used. Each miner's share of the reward would remain the same regardless of what difficulty is used.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Why do pools use a different difficulty than 'the' difficulty?  
> **username_2**: Because the goal is to track work attempted in a verifable manner.  If a pool used a difficulty equal to the block difficulty then only one share would be found per block and it would be found by the miner who solves the block.  All rewards would go to the single share holder and essentially you invented a long complex round about way of solo mining.  Another way to look at it is lets say block difficulty is 20 million if a pool uses difficulty 1 shares then on average 20 million pool shares will be found per block found.  The reward of the block is divided up among the 20 million shares.  
> **username_4**: Who validates the share? That would also require significant computational resources right?  
> **username_5**: Doesn't the pool just keep a count of the accepted shares you submit? If my accepted shares are 1% of all accepted shares, then I should get 1% of the reward less pool fees. If the block reward is 12.5 BTC, then I should get 1.25 BTC or split based on the agreed upon reward share system.  
> **username_6**: @username_4: No, validating a share, just like validating a block, is a very easy straightforward operation that involves a few hashes and basic math.  The hard part is ***finding*** a share.  
> **username_4**: @username_6 Ok, because if it would have taken time there would have been a significant risk of a DDoS attack by flooding the network with random values  
> **username_7**: Does the worker that actually solves the block get paid more in most scenarios?  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-01-26. Score: -1

1% of 12.5BTC is not 1.25BTC 12.5 × .01 = .125BTC. But yes, your reward would be proportional to the total amount of work done. If you only did 1% of the shares, you get 1% of the reward.


---

