Two, does this pool allow the S9 variants to use the ASICBoost(LPM) firmware to be utilized? It has dropped my power consumption noticeably - I'd hate to have my power use ramp back up if not supported.
Yes. This pool was the first one to support version-rolling (AsicBoost). But whether Bitmain's implementation works properly, if at all, is another story.
ANy recommended wallets? I have a Ledger Nano S. I also use Coinbase (Pro). I have been mining on Nicehash for a while - they have an instant transfer to Coinbase with no transfer fee (not even a mining fee) and then I convert to $ through Coinbase Pro (GDAX) and transfer to my bank - all no fee's other than NiceHash's 2% on the mining. Anyway, if I get ckpool - I'd get one payout per block found - so I'd think either would work - even the Ledger that doesn't suggest receiving mining payouts to their wallet - due to too large of transaction logs tied to the transfers.
Thanks!
I recommend using
Bitcoin Core as your hot wallet and your Ledger Nano S as your cold wallet.
Here are five reasons why. Most importantly, using a full node as your hot wallet
contributes to Bitcoin's economic strength.
If you are unable or unwilling to store the entire Bitcoin blockchain, you may run Bitcoin Core with pruning enabled, using the
-prune= command-line argument. (The Ledger Live app may also not work properly with payments from coinbase transactions, which is how this pool pays its miners. There is currently no documentation from Ledger regarding this.)
I also recommend using
Bisq instead of Coinbase Pro or any other centralized exchange, and then tethering Bisq's built-in bitcoin wallet to your Bitcoin Core full node (this happens automatically if both Bisq and your Bitcoin Core full node are running on the same computer).
Nicehash had issues with the Bitmain AsicBoost at first - was actually using slightly more power - but they fixed whatever the issue was and then the power use dropped. I got a 10.2% to 14.4% drop across my miners. Noone on here tried the BM LPM firmware on ckpool yet?
The sources you gave for wallets sound very interesting - but I am on a cell internet connection and don't want to use the bandwidth requirements for Bitcoin Core - Even the lower use mode still says it may add another 4 or 5GB of additional downloads each month and I already go over my limit each month as is (22GB before slow down). So far they have not cut my bandwidth, but I don't want to push it.
I will also look into the Bisq system - sounds very intersting as well.
So, ckpool uses a regular Coinbase account to pay out BTC? Would this mean if I had it to pay to my Coinbase wallet - there would be no fees for the transfer? Paying out to a Bisq wallet and then to Ledger would not be an issue? Selling BTC to $ and transferring to the bank to pay bills would work fine within Bisq? Right now it takes about 2 or 3 business days to have $ - same with Bisq? Would it be an issue to send it to a Coinbase wallet or a Coinbase Pro wallet - then do whatever from there? I am also in the middle of big projects and will have hard time finding time to delv into setup and learning Bisq at the moment.
Thanks!