Solo Mining Pastella

Solo mining allows you to mine Pastella independently and receive the full block reward when you find a block. This guide covers everything you need to know about solo mining.

What is Solo Mining?

Solo mining means you mine directly to your own wallet without joining a mining pool. When your hardware finds a valid block, you receive the entire block reward (currently 4 PAS).

Pros and Cons

Advantages	Disadvantages
Full block reward (no pool fees)	Higher variance in payouts
Complete independence	Requires significant hash rate
Direct to your wallet	Less predictable earnings
No pool dependency	May go long periods without rewards

Prerequisites

Before starting solo mining, ensure you have:

Running Pastella node - Fully synced with the network
Wallet address - To receive mining rewards
Mining software - XMRig or similar with RandomX support
Adequate hash rate - 500+ H/s recommended for regular rewards

Hardware Requirements

Minimum Requirements

CPU: Modern multi-core processor (4+ cores)
RAM: 4GB minimum
Storage: 50GB+ for blockchain data

Recommended Configuration

CPU: 8+ cores with AES-NI support
RAM: 8GB+
Hash rate: 1000+ H/s for consistent rewards

Software Setup

Step 1: Run a Pastella Node

Start the daemon with RPC enabled:

pastellad --enable-cors --rpc-bind-ip 0.0.0.0

Key Parameters:

--enable-cors - Enable CORS for RPC access
--rpc-bind-ip 0.0.0.0 - Allow external connections
--rpc-bind-port 21001 - Default RPC port
--data-dir - Specify blockchain data directory

Wait for the node to fully sync with the network.

Step 2: Configure XMRig

Download and extract XMRig (v6.16+ with RandomX support).

Create a configuration file (config.json):

{
  "autosave": true,
  "cpu": true,
  "opencl": false,
  "cuda": false,
  "pools": [
    {
      "url": "127.0.0.1:21001",
      "user": "PAS1LqBfSfzeu7Khipaj1JbSvkJfP6yJ8Z16wZVjSdd75QqM8KTcnF",
      "pass": "x",
      "rig-id": null,
      "nicehash": false,
      "keepalive": true,
      "variant": -1,
      "tls": false,
      "tls-fingerprint": null,
      "daemon": true,
      "daemon-poll-interval": 1000
    }
  ],
  "randomx": {
    "init": -1,
    "mode": "auto",
    "1gb-pages": false,
    "rdmsr": true,
    "wrmsr": true,
    "cache_qos": false,
    "numa": true,
    "scratchpad_prefetch_mode": 1
  },
  "cpu-priority": null,
  "cpu-affinity": null,
  "threads": null,
  "donate-level": 0
}

Important Settings:

url: Your daemon RPC address (127.0.0.1:21001)
user: Your wallet address
daemon: true - Enable solo mining mode
daemon-poll-interval: 1000ms - Poll every second for new blocks

Step 3: Start Mining

Run XMRig with your configuration:

./xmrig -c config.json

Or run directly with parameters:

./xmrig -o 127.0.0.1:21001 -u PAS1LqBfSfzeu7Khipaj1JbSvkJfP6yJ8Z16wZVjSdd75QqM8KTcnF --daemon

Understanding Solo Mining

How It Works

Block Template Request - XMRig requests a block template from your daemon via getblocktemplate RPC
Mining - Your CPU searches for a valid nonce using RandomX algorithm
Submission - When found, XMRig submits via submitblock RPC
Reward - If valid, you receive the full 4 PAS block reward

Expected Variance

Solo mining has high variance. Your actual earnings will depend on:

Network difficulty - Higher difficulty = harder to find blocks
Your hash rate - Higher hash rate = more chances
Luck - Random nature of finding blocks

Example with 1000 H/s:

Network share: ~0.01%
Expected time per block: ~8.3 hours
Actual may vary: 1 hour to 2+ days

Reward Calculation

Block Reward = 4 PAS (current halving epoch)
Your Share = 100% (no pool fees)

Compare to pool mining where you typically receive 99% (1% pool fee).

RPC API Details

getblocktemplate

Request a new block template:

curl -X POST http://localhost:21001/getblocktemplate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "reserve_size": 8,
    "wallet_address": "PAS1LqBfSfzeu7Khipaj1JbSvkJfP6yJ8Z16wZVjSdd75QqM8KTcnF"
  }'

Response:

{
  "difficulty": 15000,
  "height": 12345,
  "reserved_offset": 145,
  "blocktemplate_blob": "..."
}

submitblock

Submit a mined block:

curl -X POST http://localhost:21001/submitblock \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '["<block_blob_hex>"]'

Optimization Tips

CPU Configuration

Enable all threads - Use --threads or leave null for auto
Set CPU affinity - Bind threads to specific cores
Enable large pages - Set 1gb-pages: true if supported
Adjust priority - Lower if mining affects other tasks

System Optimization

# Disable CPU frequency scaling
sudo cpupower frequency-set -g performance

# Set CPU governor to performance
echo performance | sudo tee /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor

Mining Script (Linux)

Create a monitoring script:

#!/bin/bash
# solo-mining.sh

while true; do
  if pgrep -x "xmrig" > /dev/null; then
    echo "Mining is running..."
  else
    echo "Starting XMRig..."
    ./xmrig -c config.json
  fi
  sleep 60
done

Troubleshooting

This is normal in solo mining. Keep mining - only blocks matter, not shares.

"Daemon connection failed"

Check that your daemon is running:

curl http://localhost:21001/info

Verify --rpc-bind-ip 0.0.0.0 is set.

Ensure your daemon is fully synced
Check network connectivity
Reduce daemon-poll-interval if needed

No blocks after long period

Solo mining variance is normal. Consider:

Your hash rate vs network difficulty
Joining a pool for steady payouts
Checking block explorer for network stats

Monitoring Your Mining

Check Daemon Status

curl http://localhost:21001/info

Check Wallet Balance

curl http://localhost:21001/getbalance

View Mined Blocks

Use the block explorer to search for your address.

Switching from Pool to Solo

If you're currently pool mining:

Stop your pool miner
Start your local daemon (if not running)
Update XMRig config to point to 127.0.0.1:21001
Set daemon: true in config
Restart XMRig

When to Choose Pool Mining Instead

Consider pool mining if you have:

Low hash rate (< 500 H/s)
Need steady payouts - Bills to pay, etc.
Lower tolerance for variance
Limited uptime - Can't mine 24/7

See Getting Started with Mining for pool options.

Next Steps

Mining with SBC - Solo mine on Raspberry Pi
Run a Mining Pool - Start your own pool
API Reference - Full RPC documentation
Help and Support - Community support

What is Solo Mining?​

Pros and Cons​

Prerequisites​

Hardware Requirements​

Minimum Requirements​

Recommended Configuration​

Software Setup​

Step 1: Run a Pastella Node​

Step 2: Configure XMRig​

Step 3: Start Mining​

Understanding Solo Mining​

How It Works​

Expected Variance​

Reward Calculation​

RPC API Details​

getblocktemplate​

submitblock​

Optimization Tips​

CPU Configuration​

System Optimization​

Mining Script (Linux)​

Troubleshooting​

"Low difficulty share"​

"Daemon connection failed"​

"High rejected share rate"​

No blocks after long period​

Monitoring Your Mining​

Check Daemon Status​

Check Wallet Balance​

View Mined Blocks​

Switching from Pool to Solo​

When to Choose Pool Mining Instead​

Next Steps​