September 17, 2025

5 mins

Mining with OCEAN vs. Luxor — What’s the Difference?

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At Sazmining, our mission is to make Bitcoin mining simple, transparent, and rewarding for everyone. With our integration of OCEAN mining pool, you now have two clear paths to earn Bitcoin through your rig:

Luxor: predictable, time-based rewards through FPPS.
OCEAN: direct, non-custodial rewards paid straight from the block when it’s mined.

Both pools will keep your rig earning sats — the difference is in how often you get paid and how rewards are handled along the way.

What Are Mining Pools?

Mining pools let individual miners “team up” to find Bitcoin blocks more consistently. Instead of waiting to get lucky on your own, you contribute your hashrate to a pool and get a slice of the rewards.

Both OCEAN and Luxor are trusted Bitcoin mining pools — but they work very differently when it comes to payouts, reward structure, and how your hashrate is handled.

OCEAN in a Nutshell

New approach: Launched in 2023 with a mission to give miners more transparency and control.

Non-custodial payouts: Instead of pooling everything first, OCEAN’s DATUM split hashrate shares directly between your wallet and Sazmining’s. You receive your portion (typically 85%, dependent on data center) directly — no extra split at payout.

Rewards are only distributed when blocks are mined: OCEAN's TIDES system rewards users only when the pool successfully mines a block. Once your accumulated balance reaches 0.01 BTC, rewards are sent directly on-chain from the block’s coinbase transaction. There are no steady or scheduled distributions.

Pool lock-in: Once you start mining with OCEAN, you’re locked in until you’ve earned at least 0.00065 BTC.

No Lightning payouts (yet): Sazmining doesn’t currently support Lightning withdrawals through OCEAN.

Fees: With Saz running DATUM, OCEAN fees are ~1%, with zero transaction fees on distributions.

Block templates: While OCEAN is designed to give miners more influence over transaction selection, in Saz’s setup, block templates are generated using default Knots settings. Clients don’t control block templates directly, but they still benefit from OCEAN’s non-custodial reward flow and lower effective fees.

OCEAN is built for miners who want direct rewards, greater transparency, and deeper alignment with Bitcoin’s decentralization values, but it comes with more variability in income.

Luxor in a Nutshell

Established reputation: U.S.-based pool serving both individual miners and large institutions.
FPPS payouts: Uses Full Pay-Per-Share, which smooths out income so you get consistent rewards regardless of when blocks are found.
Custodial payouts: 100% of your hashrate is sent to your Luxor pool account. Rewards accumulate, and the revenue-share split between Sazmining and you occurs at withdrawal time.
User-friendly setup: Simply tell Saz to point your miner here, and we’ll create a worker account for you.
Fees: ~0.7% (paid by Saz and the customer) for Bitcoin, plus a withdrawal fee (7,500 satoshis) for each payout that occurs.
Minimums: You’ll need to reach a minimum balance threshold (specific to each data center) before a payout is triggered. For more information on how payouts work, read this article.

Luxor focuses on predictability and simplicity — an easier experience with steady payouts.

What It Means for You

If you want steady, time-based rewards, Luxor is a proven choice. Its FPPS model smooths out earnings, so you receive predictable income even when blocks aren’t immediately found.
If you prefer non-custodial rewards that are distributed directly on-chain once blocks are mined, OCEAN is the option for you. While OCEAN as a pool is designed to let miners influence block templates, in Sazmining’s setup, templates are created using default Knots settings. This means clients don’t control transaction selection, but they still benefit from OCEAN’s non-custodial structure and simple fee math.
Either way, your rig will earn wild sats — the decision comes down to whether you value predictability (Luxor) or direct, on-chain distributions with fewer fees (OCEAN).

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	OCEAN	Luxor
Reward model	Rewards only when blocks are mined (via TIDES). No steady or scheduled dispersions.	FPPS model (steady, predictable rewards regardless of blocks found).
Distribution method	Direct from the block’s coinbase (non-custodial).	Custodial — rewards accrue in Luxor account, then withdrawn.
Minimum threshold	0.01 BTC before distributions are sent.	0.001 BTC before withdrawals are possible.
Pool lock-in	Must mine at least 0.00065 BTC before switching pools.	No equivalent lock-in.
Lightning support	Not currently supported through Sazmining.	Not available.
Fees	~1% flat (since Saz runs DATUM). No transaction fees on distributions.	0.7% pool fee + 7,500 sat tx fee per withdrawal. On small balances (e.g. 100k sats), this can equal 8.2% effective fees. To reach ~1% effective fee, miners must wait until balance is ≥2.5M sats (~0.025 BTC).
Block templates	Templates generated using Knots defaults managed by Saz. Clients do not set transaction selection directly.	Pool operator manages block templates; no client control.
Best for	Miners who want direct, non-custodial rewards with simple fee math, and are comfortable with rewards that only arrive when blocks are mined.	Miners who prefer steady, predictable income and don’t mind rewards being custodial and subject to tx fees.

How Can I Switch?

Switching pools inside your Sazmining dashboard is straightforward.

On the main dashboard, look for Mining Pool settings under your mining rigs:

Click Change Pool and select either Luxor or OCEAN.
Enter and verify your Bitcoin wallet address.
Confirm by accepting the pool’s terms (minimums, payout method, etc.).

Here’s what you’ll see:

Switching to Luxor

Switching to OCEAN

⚡ Note: OCEAN has a 0.01 BTC payout minimum and a 0.00065 BTC lock-in before you can switch pools again. Luxor does not have these same lock-in rules.

What It Means for You

If you want steady payouts and a simple, low-variance setup, Luxor is a proven choice.
If you value non-custodial rewards, direct payments, and more alignment with Bitcoin’s decentralization, OCEAN may be a better fit — but expect more payout variability.

Either way, your rig will keep earning Bitcoin — the difference is in when and how you get paid.