Foundry Disrupts Zcash Mining: Captures Nearly 30% Hashrate, Threatens ViaBTC's Pool Dominance

Foundry Digital, the crypto mining powerhouse behind Bitcoin's largest mining pool, just made a decisive move into privacy-focused mining. The company launched its Foundry Zcash Pool and achieved a remarkable 29.2% network hashrate share within its first month—a stunning market entry that's immediately reshaping Zcash's mining landscape.

The Market Shift

Here's what just happened to the competitive dynamics: ViaBTC, which previously controlled around 65% of Zcash's hashrate, has seen its dominance crater to 37%. That's a seismic shift driven entirely by Foundry's institutional-grade entry into the market.

"Institutional and public miners are seeking a compliant, purpose-built Zcash mining solution," Foundry stated when announcing the pool launch. The company didn't reveal which institutional mining clients it partnered with to reach nearly 30% hashrate, but the speed of adoption tells us institutional miners were waiting for exactly this type of professional infrastructure.

Operations & Economics

Foundry's Zcash Pool started accumulating hashrate around March 4—roughly a week before the public announcement—according to Zcashinfo.com data. The pool has since mined 2,344 blocks and now operates a dedicated Zcash block explorer for transparency.

The economics are straightforward. Zcash blocks solve roughly every 75 seconds, with each block rewarding 1.25 ZEC tokens. At current market prices, that translates to approximately $458 per block. For serious commercial mining operations, Foundry's institutional-grade infrastructure likely offers better fee structures and operational reliability than fragmented alternatives.

Mining Pool Fundamentals

Mining pools aggregate computational power from distributed operators, enabling participants to smooth out reward variance by sharing mining output proportionally. This democratizes access to meaningful rewards—instead of gambling on rare solo block discoveries, miners receive steady payouts. Foundry's entry into Zcash mining applies this proven model to one of crypto's leading privacy cryptocurrencies.

Security Implications & Market Context

The shift in hashrate distribution matters for network security. Coinbase flagged ViaBTC's previous dominance as a concentration risk back in September 2023. Foundry's entry—while reducing that specific risk—introduces a different consideration: two pools now control roughly two-thirds of Zcash's hashrate. That warrants monitoring, though it's marginally healthier than ViaBTC's solo dominance.