Techub News reported, citing CryptoBriefing, that SpiderPool mined an empty Bitcoin block at block height 954,352. The block contained only the coinbase transaction and had a size of just 1.16 kWU, prompting questions about the mining strategy used by the pool. An empty block does not include regular user transactions and keeps only the coinbase transaction required for the miner’s block reward.
The immediate context for this block was the short interval between it and the previous block, which was only 62 seconds. To keep its hash power running continuously, SpiderPool used a minimum block template and proceeded with mining. The report also noted that the pool’s previous empty-block rate had exceeded 5%, while SpiderPool accounted for 8-12% of the total Bitcoin network hash rate.
Empty blocks reduce the usable block space available for transactions in that specific block, leaving transactions that could otherwise have been included outside the block. At the same time, an empty block is still a valid Bitcoin block, and the proof-of-work contributed by the mining pool continues to provide an effective contribution to network security.