Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoreNews is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoreNews on whether to sell, buy or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk.
CryptoreNews covers fintech, blockchain and Bitcoin bringing you the latest crypto news and analyses on the future of money.
The pool is tailored for institutional and publicly traded company miners, emphasizing compliance and regulated infrastructure.
(Taylor Vick/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk)
Key points:
- Foundry plans to launch a U.S.-based zcash mining pool in the first half of 2026.
- The pool is tailored for institutional and public company miners, emphasizing compliance and regulated infrastructure.
- The launch is anticipated to substantially influence the zcash mining sector by introducing a significant, regulated operator.
Foundry Digital, recognized as one of the largest Bitcoin mining pools by hashrate, announced its intention to establish a zcash (ZEC) mining pool by next month, expanding its focus beyond BTC and integrating a major institutional player into the privacy-centric network.
Through the new pool, Foundry aims to provide zcash miners with a U.S.-based platform built around compliance protocols, reporting standards, and operational controls typically required by public companies and large enterprises.
This initiative addresses what Foundry identifies as a deficiency in Zcash infrastructure. Although the cryptocurrency has been in existence for nearly a decade, much of its mining framework continues to consist of smaller global pools that frequently operate outside structured compliance guidelines.
“Zcash has evolved into an institutional-grade asset, but the mining infrastructure supporting it hasn’t kept pace,” stated Foundry CEO Mike Colyer in a statement released to CoinDesk.
Related Posts
Focus on privacy
This expansion occurs as privacy-oriented cryptocurrencies regain market attention, coinciding with the introduction of new crypto tax reporting regulations, which include the risk of asset seizure, throughout the European Union at the start of the year, alongside ongoing developments in on-chain analysis that are increasing the need for financial privacy.
Zcash, along with other privacy-focused coins like monero (XMR) and dash (DASH), has experienced renewed interest that has contributed to price increases. ZEC has demonstrated significant growth, rising over 670% over the past 12 months, compared to XMR’s 72% increase in the same timeframe, while DASH has risen 51%.
The outperformance of ZEC is likely due to its hybrid privacy architecture, which allows for shielded – completely anonymous – transactions to be optional with selective disclosure. This feature enables transactions to be transparent for custody and exchanges, attracting accumulation from a Winklevoss-backed treasury firm as well as investments into the Grayscale Zcash Trust.
Foundry’s pivot towards zcash may also reflect broader shifts in mining economics. Bitcoin mining profitability has decreased following the 2024 halving, which halved block rewards while mining challenges escalated.
In a conversation with CoinDesk, Coyler countered the notion that this shift is primarily a reaction to declining bitcoin profit margins.
“We assess opportunities based on the necessity for institutional infrastructure, rather than bitcoin margins at any specific time,” he stated. “Foundry’s bitcoin mining operations remain robust and are our foundational core.”
The expansion, Coyler mentioned, was driven by the recognition of a gap in compliant Zcash infrastructure. “Institutional and public miners looking for exposure to zcash have not had access to U.S.-based, compliant, purpose-built infrastructure to facilitate this,” he added.
While bitcoin’s price surged to nearly $125,000 late last year, it has since corrected to approximately $69,500. Consequently, hashprice, a metric indicating the expected value of 1TH/s of hashing power per day, has dropped from over $60 to $30 per petahash.
As profit margins diminish, numerous large mining firms have started to investigate other proof-of-work networks to diversify their income streams.
Zcash mining framework
Zcash was introduced in 2016 as a privacy-centric cryptocurrency utilizing zero-knowledge proof technology. The network enables users to conduct transactions on a public blockchain while maintaining key information confidential. By employing a cryptographic method known as zk-SNARKs, Zcash can confirm that a transaction is legitimate without disclosing the sender, receiver, or the amount involved.
Similar to Bitcoin, the Zcash network employs proof-of-work mining to secure its blockchain, with miners utilizing specialized hardware to solve intricate mathematical problems to enhance network security. When a miner or mining pool resolves one of these problems, it adds a new block of transactions to the chain and receives a reward in newly minted ZEC tokens along with transaction fees.
Zcash blocks are generated approximately every 75 seconds, which is quicker than bitcoin’s blocks produced every 10 minutes. Nonetheless, both share a supply cap of 21 million coins. The mining process utilizes an algorithm called Equihash, which varies from Bitcoin’s SHA-256 and was designed to necessitate substantial memory during computation.
Network difficulty, which ensures consistent block production timing, means the likelihood of independently solving a block is minimal. Consequently, miners aggregate in what are referred to as mining pools, where participants combine their computational power and distribute rewards based on their contribution. Large pools can affect the stability and decentralization of a network as they control significant portions of its overall hashrate.
Foundry’s zcash pool
Foundry has stated that its zcash pool will implement identity verification procedures for participants through stringent know-your-customer and anti-money laundering compliance, alongside transparent payout calculations and reporting tools targeted at institutional users. It will feature a dedicated support team and have its operations based in the United States.
The company intends to utilize the same operational framework established by its bitcoin pool, which has successfully completed SOC 1 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 2 compliance audits, according to their statement.
Mining rewards will be allocated via transparent Zcash addresses, rather than shielded ones, the company noted. The pool will compensate miners on a Pay Per Last N Shares (PPLNS) model, which Coyler indicated is “fully auditable” and offers comprehensive data to support daily payment reconciliation.
Foundry did not disclose the fees for miners, stating only that it will provide “competitive pool fee rates.” There will be no minimum hashrate requirement to join the pool, Coyler noted, emphasizing that the Zcash mining ecosystem is still developing.
The company anticipates interest from miners already operating in regulated environments such as North America. Many of these firms depend on formal reporting systems and compliance initiatives to fulfill corporate governance obligations.
If the zcash pool launches as planned in 2026, it would represent one of the largest institutional entries into the Zcash mining ecosystem to date. Other significant mining pools currently operating in this space include F2Pool, 2Miners, and ViaBTC.
