Antpool is a Bitcoin mining pool operated by Bitmain, one of the largest manufacturers of ASIC mining hardware. By joining the pool, individual miners combine their hash power with thousands of others to compete for block rewards, then split the earnings according to each participant’s contribution.
Solo mining demands significant capital and energy because the Bitcoin network’s total hash rate remains high. Mining pools distribute the workload so that smaller operators receive frequent, proportional payouts rather than waiting indefinitely for a solo block.
A miner running a single Antminer device might never secure a full block reward on their own. After connecting to Antpool, that miner begins to receive smaller Bitcoin payments at regular intervals because the pool finds blocks more consistently.
Antpool remains a major participant in Bitcoin mining, with its market share fluctuating as network difficulty, energy prices, and regulatory conditions evolve.