No pool operator. No fees. No registration. P2Pool is the only way to mine Monero without trusting anyone. Set up in 30 minutes, mine forever.
| Feature | Centralized Pool | P2Pool |
|---|---|---|
| Fees | 1–3% | 0% (zero) |
| Registration | Email + password | None |
| KYC | Some require it | Impossible (no account) |
| Block Selection | Pool operator decides | You decide (your node) |
| Censorship | Operator can block you | Impossible (decentralized) |
| Payout | Pool sends to you | Directly from block reward |
| Privacy | Pool sees your hashrate, IP, address | Only you see your data |
| Network Health | Centralizes hashrate | Distributes hashrate |
P2Pool accounts for ~15–20% of Monero's total network hashrate in 2026. Using P2Pool directly strengthens Monero's decentralization — which protects the privacy guarantees you rely on.
| P2Pool Main | P2Pool Mini | |
|---|---|---|
| Target Hashrate | >100 KH/s | <100 KH/s (most home miners) |
| Block Time | 10 seconds | 10 seconds |
| Payout Frequency | Less frequent | More frequent (smaller shares) |
| Difficulty | Higher | Lower |
| Revenue | Same (long-term) | Same (long-term) |
Most home miners should use P2Pool mini. With a Ryzen 5 (~5–10 KH/s) or Ryzen 7 (~10–15 KH/s), you'll get shares much more frequently on mini, which means more regular payouts and less variance.
P2Pool requires a synced local Monero node. Download from getmonero.org or use your package manager.
# Start monerod with ZMQ enabled (required for P2Pool)
./monerod --zmq-pub tcp://127.0.0.1:18083 --out-peers 64 --in-peers 32 \
--add-priority-node=p2pmd.xmrvsbeast.com:18080 \
--add-priority-node=nodes.hashvault.pro:18080First sync takes 1–3 days. Subsequent starts sync in minutes. For a full setup guide including Tor and systemd: Monero Node Guide →
Get the latest release from github.com/SChernykh/p2pool. Extract and verify.
# P2Pool Mini (recommended for most home miners)
./p2pool --host 127.0.0.1 --wallet YOUR_MONERO_ADDRESS --mini
# P2Pool Main (for >100 KH/s)
./p2pool --host 127.0.0.1 --wallet YOUR_MONERO_ADDRESSReplace YOUR_MONERO_ADDRESS with your wallet's primary address (starts with 4). P2Pool opens a stratum port on 127.0.0.1:3333.
# Point XMRig to local P2Pool stratum
./xmrig -o 127.0.0.1:3333No pool password or worker name needed. XMRig connects to your local P2Pool instance. Download XMRig from github.com/xmrig/xmrig.
For a complete mining guide including XMRig optimization, CPU tuning, and profitability estimates: How to Mine Monero (2026) →
Check P2Pool's console output for share notifications. On mini, shares typically arrive every few hours for a Ryzen 7. Your payout accumulates with each Monero block found by the P2Pool sidechain and is sent directly to your wallet.
| Ryzen 5 5600X | ~8 KH/s | ~0.003–0.005 XMR/day |
| Ryzen 7 5800X | ~13 KH/s | ~0.005–0.008 XMR/day |
| Ryzen 9 5950X | ~20 KH/s | ~0.008–0.012 XMR/day |
| EPYC 7742 | ~45 KH/s | ~0.018–0.025 XMR/day |
Earnings fluctuate with network difficulty and luck. Long-term averages are consistent. Electricity costs vary by location — in Germany (~€0.30/kWh), a Ryzen 7 costs ~€1.50/day to run for ~€1.50–2.50/day in XMR at current prices.
Mining is the most private way to acquire Monero. P2P trading is the most private way to sell it. Together, they form a complete privacy loop: mine XMR → sell for cash → no exchange, no KYC, no digital trail.
Mail your mined XMR to a buyer. Receive cash by registered post. 2–5 days. No bank involved. Guide →
Meet a buyer in person. Hand over XMR, receive cash. Instant. Available in SW Germany. Guide →
Decentralized exchange with escrow. List your mined XMR, find a EUR buyer. 0.6–2% fees. Tutorial →
For a complete comparison of all selling methods: How to Sell Monero for Cash → | Monero to Euro — 6 Methods →
Mined Monero has zero transaction history. It's freshly created by the coinbase transaction. With Monero's upcoming FCMP++ upgrade, even the theoretical possibility of linking mined outputs to spending patterns becomes impossible — since the entire blockchain becomes the anonymity set.
This makes the combination of mining + P2Pool + P2P selling the strongest financial privacy setup available in 2026. No exchange touches your coins. No government database records your identity. No blockchain analyst can trace the flow.
Technically yes, but laptops thermal-throttle and have shorter lifespans under sustained load. Desktop CPUs are better. Even a modest Ryzen 5 earns something meaningful.
No. Monero's RandomX algorithm is CPU-only by design. GPUs are less efficient than CPUs for RandomX. This is intentional — it prevents ASIC/GPU mining farms from centralizing the network.
On P2Pool mini with a Ryzen 7 (~13 KH/s): first share within hours, first payout within 1–3 days. Payouts are small and frequent. On main chain: days to weeks for the first share.
Yes. Run P2Pool on one machine and point all XMRig instances to it (same 127.0.0.1:3333 or LAN IP). All hashrate contributes to the same P2Pool sidechain shares.
Monero has a permanent 0.6 XMR per block reward (since June 2022). This means miners are always incentivized and the network remains secure. Full tail emission explainer →
Yes, in virtually all countries. Mining is simply running software on your own computer. Legality guide →
I buy Monero for cash — EU-wide via registered mail, or face-to-face in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Strasbourg. 10% over market price. 683 trades, 454 partners, 100% feedback. Escrow available.
Contact: Telegram @arnoldnakamura • Signal: +7578818677 • XMRBazaar