Foundry's New Zcash Pool Reaches 30% Network Hashrate on Day One
Foundry Digital, best known for operating the Foundry USA Pool in Bitcoin mining, has expanded into Zcash with the launch of Foundry Zcash Pool. The company said miners were already onboarded ahead of the March 11 launch, and that the pool quickly climbed to about 30% of the current Zcash network hashrate.
In its announcement and posts on X, Foundry argued the early traction reflects strong demand from institutional and public miners for a compliant, purpose-built Zcash mining offering. Foundry said the pool will be operated from the U.S. to reduce compliance burden and counterparty risk for regulated miners, and will feature "transparent and auditable payouts."
The rapid concentration of hashrate, though, also revives concerns about weakening decentralization and potential longer-term regulatory exposure. The development can be viewed as a double-edged sword: improved operational safeguards for regulated participants, but greater centralization risk for the network.
The timing is notable against a tougher earnings backdrop for miners. Data cited in the report showed daily miner revenue falling from about $45 million at the start of 2026 to roughly $28–$35 million at press time. Hashrate volatility has also intensified, with the measure last cited at 1.2B EH/s, pointing to heightened competition even as miners earn less.
Separate CryptoQuant data on Bitcoin's [BTC] hashprice—miner revenue per unit of hashpower—indicated a sharp decline since January 2026. Despite signs of recovery in Bitcoin's price, hashprice has dropped enough to drive a reported 30% decline in miner profitability, sitting well below the past year's long-term average of $0.046 per TH/s/day.
Alongside the pool, Foundry also introduced Zcashinfo.com, described as a new block explorer designed for the Zcash community. The site is positioned as a one-stop dashboard for real-time pool rankings, hashrate distribution, block data, and network difficulty trends. Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox welcomed the launch, saying he is pleased Foundry is bringing institutional credibility and long-term commitment to Zcash.
ZEC was trading at $376.11 at publication, up 4.38% over the past 24 hours. The move followed weeks of ZEC struggling to clear the $250 resistance level since the final week of February, and the report suggested the current momentum increases the likelihood of a push toward $400.
In summary, Foundry's Zcash pool debut arrives as miners' profitability is down about 30%, while Zcashinfo.com consolidates on-chain and market data tools aimed at making mining operations more streamlined.
