The ORE project is an experimental fusion of two traditionally separate worlds: the Proof-of-Work ethos of Bitcoin and the programmable environment of the Proof-of-Stake network Solana. ORE’s mining mechanism and utility within Solana’s ecosystem make it unusual and innovative – worth the attention.
ORE Mining on Solana: Highlights
ORE is a token based on Solana, which is minable, unlike typical network tokens. So it isn't just another token, it's a reimagined PoW system that makes mining:
- Accessible — no specialized hardware required;
- Efficient — runs on Solana’s fast network;
- Useful — integrates with DeFi and real-world applications.
Let’s explore how ORE Solana mining works and what makes this unique system function as intended behind the scenes.
What is ORE?
ORE is a cryptocurrency that runs on the Solana blockchain, a high-throughput Proof-of-Stake (PoS) environment. It follows the standard SPL framework like any other token on the network, but integrates mining – a Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism.
Source: Ore Supply
Its design is quite unconventional compared to both PoW and typical PoS tokens:
Unlike PoW tokens (e.g. Bitcoin, Monero), it runs on Solana rather than its own blockchain.
Unlike PoS tokens, it uses mining for distribution, making it the only minable token on Solana.
Being a Solana-native asset, it benefits from its network’s speed, low fees, and ecosystem integrations, meaning mined ORE can be used in various applications.
This hybrid design makes ORE unique.
ORE V1
ORE was initially launched on April 2, 2024, by the pseudonymous founder Hardhat Chad.
The first version (V1) aimed to mimic a mining process through regular blockchain transactions but quickly encountered issues:
- Users flooded the network with transactions to increase their chances of mining ORE, leading to excessive spamming.
- Casual users or those without advanced knowledge on how to optimize their transactions struggled to mine successfully.
- The sheer volume of ORE-related transactions overwhelmed the network, worsening an existing issue in Solana’s transaction processing, leading to severe network congestion
Eventually, V1 mining was paused after just two weeks.
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From V1 to V2
Seeing its unexpected success in the community, ORE mining relaunched in August 2024 with a hard fork and a new version of the token.
While ORE was initially just a blockchain experiment, it led to the creation of Regolith Labs, a company to build on that vision. In September 2024, Regolith Labs raised money from investors in a seed round. This funding was used to support the company’s development and future projects. To maintain the fair launch ethos, ORE had no pre-mine or insider allocations.
V2 set a fixed supply cap, initially intended to mimic Bitcoin’s 21 million limit, later adjusted to a 5 million cap. It also introduced a fairer and more efficient mining system that we overview in the following section.
How Solana ORE mining works
ORE is mined through a proof-of-work mechanism governed by a smart contract on Solana. Much like Bitcoin, mining involves generating hashes by performing complex calculations, but with a tweak. Here’s a breakdown of the process:
Hash generation:
The actual hash computations are performed on a miner’s local device (computer, laptop, etc.). The goal is to find the most "difficult" hash – the one with the most leading zeros. Each mining session lasts about a minute after which the miner submits their best hash to the blockchain.On-chain validation:
The smart contract then validates the hash, ensuring that the inputs and outputs are correctly formed. If the hash passes scrutiny, the miner receives newly issued ORE tokens.Incentives:
The amount of tokens awarded correlates directly with the difficulty of the submitted hash. At the same time, the contract is programmed to maintain a minting rate of 1 ORE per minute.Anti-spam measures:
To prevent the network from being overwhelmed by repeated submissions, a timing function enforces a 55-second cooldown between submissions.
This design balances the reward mechanism, making sure that mining remains fair.
ORE vs Bitcoin: Key differences
The project emerged from an idea to bring Bitcoin on Solana – make BTC more usable within Solana’s high-speed ecosystem. Instead of just bridging BTC, the idea shifted to reviving Bitcoin mining culture but in a way that works on a high-throughput Proof-of-Stake network.
In doing so, ORE aimed to attract a broader audience by:
- Allowing mining on everyday devices like laptops and even mobile phones;
- Creating a minable token that fits into Solana’s ecosystem.
Let’s see some tweaks made to the Bitcoin model to achieve these unique characteristics.
Fair mining
The key difference in accessibility between Bitcoin and ORE token mining comes down to their choice of hash function.
Bitcoin's mining algorithm, SHA256, is highly parallelizable. This property has led to the rise of ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits), machines specialized for SHA256 that vastly outperform CPUs and GPUs. As a result, mining is out of reach for most people due to high costs for both hardware and electricity.
More on how Bitcoin’s mining and node infrastructure works in this in-depth guide.
ORE uses DrillX, which is designed to resist optimization on specialized hardware. This means high-end equipment doesn’t have an extreme advantage over consumer-grade laptops or even smartphones.
Mining and verification work in ORE / Source: Regolith Labs GitHub
In other words, ORE mining remains democratized, as no one can gain an unfair advantage.
Token utility
Since it runs on top of Solana’s infrastructure, ORE can explore new incentive models and use cases in the ecosystem. Some examples are:
- Incentivized mining: Users get extra rewards (“boosts”) for staking ORE and providing liquidity, which multiplies their mining rewards.
- Hybrid staking: Participants can stake various tokens to earn these boosts, adding a new twist to traditional mining.
- Real-world integrations: ORE aims to create a network of liquidity pools on Solana that include assets like stablecoins, real-world assets (RWAs), and DePIN project tokens. This makes ORE more than just a speculative asset but potentially a medium between traditional finance and crypto.
For more differenced between BTC and ORE, see the table below.
| Features | Bitcoin | ORE |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Native token of the Bitcoin blockchain | Minalbe token, a program on Solana |
| Supply | Finite, 21M BTC | Finite, 5M ORE |
| Decimals | 8 | 11 |
| Proof-of-Work Role | Integral to consensus, block proposal, and supply distribution | Token distribution |
| Hash Function | SHA256 | DrillX (based on Equix) |
| Difficulty Distribution | Probability-based | Purely hash-rate dependent |
| Mining Accessibility | Low (hardware-intensive, requires ASICs) | High (CPU-friendly) |
| Use Cases | Store of value | DeFi integration, exchangeable liquidity |
In essence, ORE is more than just a mined asset, it can have direct DeFi and real-world utility and support diverse applications.
How to mine ORE on Solana
As we learned by now, mining ORE is accessible to almost anyone. The primary tool is a command-line interface available on GitHub that runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac. Here’s how to install and start using it:
- Install Rust & Cargo. If you don’t already have Rust installed, run the following command:
curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh
- Downloads & installs the Solana CLI toolset:
sh -c "$(curl -sSfL https://release.anza.xyz/stable/install)"
ORE CLI requires a Solana keypair to sign transactions. To generate a Solana keypair use:
solana-keygen new
- Now, install the ORE CLI:
cargo install ore-cli
- Confirm that ore-cli is installed by running:
ore -h
You should see a list of available commands.
Mining ORE: Solana RPC
Mining ORE involves on-chain validation, so users need reliable access to Solana’s network to submit their hashes to the smart contract. To do that:
- Get a Solana RPC URL from GetBlock;
- Configure the mining client to use the chosen RPC and start mining:
ore --rpc https://go.getblock.io/mine
By using a GetBlock RPC service, you ensure that:
- Low-latency RPCs improve the likelihood of successful submissions before the timing function penalizes late miners.
- Higher request limits prevent issues when sending frequent mining transactions.
- Geographically optimized nodes reduce delays, giving miners a slight edge in efficiency.
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Looking ahead
ORE is a quite fascinating experiment because it blends the legacy and cultural heft of Bitcoin with the speed and efficiency of modern blockchain networks like Solana.
ORE continues finding its unique role within Solana’s ecosystem. With plans to integrate more with real-world assets and diverse DeFi projects, the future looks promising for a project that started as a fun experiment reimagining mining.
