What is the SSL port on a Monero pool and should I use it?
A Monero pool’s SSL port is the connection point that lets your miner talk to the pool over an encrypted connection. You should usually use it when your mining software supports it, but you must use the exact port listed by your pool—there is no single SSL port shared by all Monero pools.
What the SSL port actually does
A mining pool combines the work of many miners and shares mining rewards according to its payout rules. Your miner connects to the pool to receive work and send back “shares,” which are proof that it has been doing that work.
A port is a numbered connection point on a server. A pool may offer one port for plain, unencrypted mining traffic and another for encrypted traffic.
Pools often call the encrypted option “SSL,” although modern connections should use TLS, the newer security technology that replaced SSL. You may see it labeled:
- SSL port
- TLS port
- Secure Stratum connection
Stratum is a communication protocol commonly used between miners and pools. Adding TLS protects that communication while it travels across the network.
Why you should normally use it
TLS helps stop someone on your network, or along your internet connection, from reading or changing the messages exchanged between your miner and the pool.
Depending on the pool’s setup, those messages can include your public wallet address, worker name, mining jobs, and submitted shares. Your public wallet address is not a spending key, but you may still want to keep it out of plain sight.
With proper certificate verification, your miner also checks that it is connecting to the expected server. A certificate is a digital credential used to establish the server’s identity.
There are limits, though:
- Your pool can still see the information you send it.
- TLS does not make your connection anonymous or hide your IP address from the pool.
- It does not guarantee that a pool is honest or will pay you.
- It does not necessarily hide the fact that you are mining from a network operator.
A pool never needs your wallet’s recovery phrase or private spending key. Encryption does not make a request for those secrets safe.
How to choose and configure the right port
Check your pool’s official connection instructions. Look for the server address, the SSL/TLS port, and any miner-specific settings.
Do not assume that a familiar-looking port number supports encryption. Pools choose their own numbers, and some ports also have different starting share difficulties or other requirements.
Your setup generally needs:
- The correct pool server address.
- The pool’s listed TLS port.
- TLS enabled in your miner’s connection settings.
- Certificate verification left enabled when supported.
Changing only the port may not turn on TLS. Your miner may require a separate setting or a particular address format.
If you get a certificate error, check the address, your device’s clock, and the pool’s instructions rather than immediately turning verification off.
Does it matter for browser mining?
TLS usually adds very little overhead and should not meaningfully reduce your mining speed. It does not increase your rewards or change how Monero mining works.
If you mine through a website, the browser may connect through an intermediary server instead of directly to the pool. An HTTPS page alone does not prove that every later connection to the pool is encrypted. Check how the service handles that connection; you may not have a pool-port setting yourself.
The bottom line
Use your pool’s documented TLS option when available. It is a useful connection safeguard, not a guarantee of privacy, pool trustworthiness, or earnings.
