Merged Mining
Merged mining is mining two networks with one job. The classic pair: Litecoin and Dogecoin on Scrypt, where the second coin comes as a bonus on top of the first.
How merged mining works
Technically it is AuxPoW, auxiliary proof of work: the junior network accepts the senior network's solution as its own. The same hash search counts for both networks, so the bonus takes nothing away from the main mining.
Dogecoin moved to this scheme in 2014 and has lived under the protection of Litecoin's hashrate ever since. For a Scrypt ASIC owner this means the pool pays in two coins at once, and the second adds a noticeable share to income.
Almost nothing is required from the miner: modern Scrypt pools enable merged mining on their own. The only thing worth checking is how the pool pays it out: some hand the coins over as they are, others convert everything into one currency at their own rate.
On SHA-256 the same mechanics show up more rarely and with small networks, where the bonus is usually symbolic. The living economics of merged mining today is exactly the Scrypt pair.
The short version
| Mechanics | AuxPoW: one job, two networks |
| The main pair | Litecoin and Dogecoin on Scrypt |
| Since when | Dogecoin on AuxPoW since 2014 |
| What the main coin loses | nothing |
| What the miner does | picks a pool, the rest is automatic |
What to check when picking a pool
Which coins come as the bonus and how they are paid: as is, in the main coin, or converted at the pool's rate.
Whether the bonus is covered by the advertised payout scheme. On some pools PPS covers only the main coin, the second one comes as a separate line.
The fee on the second coin: it can be higher than on the main one, and that eats part of the bonus.
Wallets for both coins if the pool pays separately. An address from one network will not work for the other.
An example of the logic
A Scrypt ASIC mines Litecoin, and the pool submits the same hash search to the Dogecoin network through AuxPoW. Two payout lines appear in the stats. Hashrate on the main coin did not dip by a fraction: the work is one and the same, just counted twice.
Related terms
Where to go next on the site
Algorithms
- Scrypt algorithms
Coins
Numbers
Questions and answers
Is the second coin really free
The work is one, so yes: the bonus costs no extra electricity. You only pay the pool's fee on that coin.
Can any two coins be mined this way
No, the junior network has to support AuxPoW and live on the same algorithm. Pairs take years to form, you cannot assemble them at will.
Why does the DOGE income swing harder
Exchange rate and the pool's payout rules. The mining itself runs exactly in step with the main coin, but converting to money adds the second coin's volatility.
How the terms connect
Every link in the chain is clickable. Orange marks where you are now.
Looking for an ASIC miner
The catalog holds 212 models. You can compare them by hashrate and by joules per terahash, then plug your own rate into the calculator and see what stays in your pocket.
Page written and checked by Denys Klimchuk. Updated .