PoP Mining

📜 TL;DR:

• Participants can secure the Hemi Network to Bitcoin and earn rewards by operating the PoP Miner application.

• There are two primary methods to run a PoP miner within the Hemi Network: Web PoP Miner and CLI PoP Miner.

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🌐 Overview

• Mining within the Hemi Network involves a specialized process designed to intertwine the security of the Hemi Network with that of the Bitcoin blockchain.

• This is achieved through the operation of the PoP Miner application, which plays a pivotal role in this symbiotic security mechanism.

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🛠️ How It Works

1. Fetching Headers: The PoP Miner retrieves network headers from the Bitcoin Finality Governor for Bitcoin blockchain publication.

2. Transaction Construction: The miner constructs Bitcoin transactions embedding aforementioned Hemi Network headers.

3. Proof of Publication: Miners broadcast transactions through the Governor. These transactions are then integrated into Hemi’s consensus layer after being validated via the Bitcoin network, resulting in miner rewards.

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⛏️ Run a PoP Miner

There are two primary methods to run a PoP miner within the Hemi Network:

1. CLI Version: The CLI (Command Line Interface) version of PoP mining is designed for long-term, continuous operation. It requires some technical knowledge for setup and maintenance but provides robust security and operational efficiency.

2. Web-based Miner: The web-based PoP miner, built with WebAssembly (WASM), is lightweight, user-friendly, and requires no special hardware. It is ideal for users of all experience levels to test and run their own PoP miner. While it is not recommended for long-term operation, it is perfect for short-term experimentation and as an introduction to the more durable CLI version.

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💸 Earning Rewards

🔍 Tracking Miner Activity	Visit the Hemi Block Explorer and visit Run a PoP Miner to see your miner's history and activity.
⏳ Payout Processing Time	It takes about 30 minutes after sending a transaction to receive a PoP payout, though this may take longer now due to the unpredictable speed of Bitcoin testnet.
⚡️ Quick Confirmation Rewards	You will earn PoP rewards for transactions that are quickly confirmed (within the next 2-3 Bitcoin blocks).
🔄 Static Rewards	Testnet rewards are fixed, with each successful transaction earning 1 tHEMI. Payouts occur after the transaction is successfully confirmed. You may expect a brief delay between transaction confirmation and the distribution of tHEMI to your address. In future testnets and on the mainnet, rewards will depend on the number of active PoP miners.
💰 tBTC Mining Sustainability	Rate: Engaging in PoP mining by sending one transaction every 5 minutes consumes approximately 0.002 tBTC per day. Duration: With this rate, 1 tBTC can sustain mining activities for about 500 days. Please note, this estimate is based on current conditions and may vary with changes in Bitcoin's mempool activity and fee market dynamics. Management Advice: We recommend developers periodically review their tBTC balance to ensure continuous mining operations without interruption. Strategies for tBTC account replenishment will be provided, ensuring miners can maintain active participation in the network over the long term. Join Discord to chat with the team if you have any questions.
🔗 Additional Links	github.com/hemilabs/heminetwork

📝 Tips

• 🚫 Single Key, Single Miner: Using the same key for multiple PoP miner instances can lead to conflicts, as they may attempt to use the same Bitcoin UTXO simultaneously, causing operational issues.

• 🗂 Purpose of popm-address.json: This file serves as a secure storage for your generated keys, meant for reference. The actual Bitcoin key used by the PoP Miner is specified through an environment variable at the program's start.

• 🔑 Unified Private Key: Your single private key generates both a Bitcoin address and a Hemi address. The Hemi network automatically processes your public key from Bitcoin transactions, converting it into a Hemi address to receive payouts.

• ⚡ Bitcoin Testnet Dynamics: Bitcoin testnet can undergo periods of rapid block generation due to block difficulty adjustments after inactive periods. This unusual pace can temporarily impact the timing and processing of payouts.

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🕵️ Behind the Scenes

• A Bitcoin Secure Sequencer (BSS) generates and broadcasts a new block.

• BSS nodes send the block header to Bitcoin Finality Governor (BFG) nodes.

• BFG nodes direct the header to PoP Miners.

• Miners create and send back signed Bitcoin transactions containing the header.

• BFG nodes push these transactions into the Bitcoin network.

• Once included in a Bitcoin block, BFG nodes generate PoP Transactions with proofs of Bitcoin inclusion.

• These transactions and Bitcoin headers are incorporated into a new Hemi block by a BSS node, updating the EVM with the latest Bitcoin state.

• Rewards are calculated and distributed to PoP Miners post-mining.