How the encrypted connection works on Headframe

and what it's for

What is stratum+tls?

It's a secure connection between your miner and the pool. It encrypts all traffic so that no one - not even your ISP - can see what you're mining, how many orbs you're sending, or generally understand what's going on.

It's like a secure messenger, only for mining.

Stratum to connect:

stratum+tls://tls-gate1.headframe.io:3010

Backup stratum:

stratum+tls://tls-gate2.headframe.io:3011

Why is this needed?

In a normal connection via stratum:

– The traffic is not encrypted;

– network admin or ISP can theoretically see what you are mining;

With encryption (stratum+tls://...):

– data is fully protected;

– no one will know what you are mining and how much;

– Safe even on an untrusted network (for example, on a rented site or in someone else's data center if the asic supports tls).

Some miners are able to connect to stratum+tls:// directly. For example:

✅ Whatsminer (newer models like M53) - everything works at once.

⚠️ Antminer (including S21) - do not support direct connection, even with the latest firmware.

What to do if TLS is not directly supported?

Use a proxy that supports TLS.

How it works:

All ASICs connect to the internal IP of the proxy.

The proxy forwards traffic to our pool over an encrypted channel.

Internal traffic between the devices and the proxy is not encrypted (which is fine), and everything goes out securely.

If you have a large container with different devices or non TLS-enabled firmware, proxy is the solution.

⚠️ We do not configure proxies and do not have a ready-made solution - this process happens on the client side.

And it is definitely secure?

Yes. We use the TLS 1.3 protocol - the same protocol that protects online banking, government services and most of the Internet.

Who needs it?

– If you're mining from home and want no one to see your traffic.

– If you are on a shared network.

– If you want to reduce the risk of ISP or site interference.

– If you just want to be safe :)

If you don't have any goals to hide your traffic - you can leave the regular stratum. It is as safe as before - it allows you to mine stably and safely.