From bfgminer as a stratum proxy to ckpool

A while back, I wrote about my journey returning to old school solo Bitcoin mining, embracing the Han Solo spirit of going it alone against astronomical odds. Since then, I’ve upgraded my setup from using bfgminer as a stratum proxy to running a proper ckpool instance—and the difference is remarkable.

Why ckpool Over bfgminer as Stratum Proxy?

While bfgminer works as a basic stratum proxy, ckpool is purpose-built for pool operations and offers significant advantages:

Performance & Stability:

ckpool handles high hashrates effortlessly without bottlenecks
Designed for 24/7 operation with minimal overhead
Proper vardiff implementation that adapts smoothly to your hardware

Better Statistics:

Real-time hashrate tracking (1m, 5m, 1h, 24h averages)
Accurate share submission rates
Best share difficulty tracking
Detailed per-worker statistics

Solo Mining Features:

Direct block submission to Bitcoin Core
Full transaction inclusion (supporting the network properly)
Custom coinbase signatures, (mine is „Not a den of thieves! Mt 21:13)

Modern Architecture:

Works seamlessly with Bitcoin Core v20+ (thanks to the skot/ckpool fork)
ZMQ support for instant block notifications
Clean separation between pool logic and Bitcoin node

Test Your Setup: The Solo Mining Probability Calculator

Before committing to solo mining full-time, you can now test your rig on my experimental stratum server at solo-mining.bitcoin-mempool.info:3333.

How to connect:

URL: stratum+tcp://solo-mining.bitcoin-mempool.info:3333
Username: Any valid Bitcoin address (or anything, really, will be shortend for privacy reasons)
Password: x (or anything)
MinDiff is 100 only!

Point your miner there for at least one hour, then visit solo-mining.bitcoin-mempool.info to see detailed statistics including:

Your actual hashrate stability over different time windows
Share submission rates
Block finding probability based on current network difficulty (e.g., „60.8K years average, rolling a 6 on a fair dice 14 times in a row!“)
Best share difficulty achieved
Total accepted shares

Important Disclaimer

This is purely for educational and testing purposes. The server:

Does NOT pay out any rewards (no PPS, no PPLNS, nothing)
Will NOT pay you if you find a block
Helps you understand your solo mining odds
Tests your hardware stability under real conditions
Provides insights into variance and expected block-finding times

Think of it as a probability calculator that actually stress-tests your hardware while computing your chances.

The Reality Check

With my ~330 GH/s setup, the statistics page shows I’d need approximately ~59k years on average to find a block at current difficulty (146.47T). That’s like winning the lottery—except the lottery odds are actually by far better.

But you know what? There’s something deeply satisfying about running your own infrastructure, understanding the mathematics, and participating in Bitcoin’s security model directly, even if the odds make Vegas look generous.

Solo mining isn’t about profitability. It’s about truly understanding Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work from the inside out, running the complete stack yourself, and yes—feeling like Han Solo navigating an asteroid field.

The odds might be astronomical, but as Han would say: „Never tell me the odds.“