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Foundry to Launch Zcash Mining Pool in 2026
Digital asset infrastructure provider Foundry Digital plans to launch a Zcash mining pool in April 2026. The initiative marks an expansion of the company’s crypto mining infrastructure beyond Bitcoin.
According to the company, the new pool will focus on institutional and publicly traded miners. These participants often require compliance-oriented infrastructure, transparent reporting tools, and reliable payout systems.
The launch could bring additional hashrate to the Zcash network and strengthen its security.
Foundry expands mining services with Zcash pool
Foundry Digital announced plans to introduce a new Zcash mining pool built on infrastructure similar to its existing Foundry USA Pool. The company’s Bitcoin mining pool is currently one of the largest in the crypto mining industry by hashrate share.
The new service will operate from the United States and target institutional miners. Foundry stated that the pool will include operational tools designed for large-scale mining operations.
Key features of the planned service include:
- reporting tools for mining operations;
- structured reward distribution systems;
- infrastructure aligned with institutional compliance requirements.
This approach aims to attract corporate participants to Zcash mining.
Factors behind Foundry’s decision
Zcash is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency launched in 2016. The network allows users to send transactions without revealing sensitive information such as wallet addresses or transaction amounts.
The blockchain uses zero-knowledge proofs, known as zk-SNARKs, to support optional shielded transactions. At the same time, the protocol is based on Bitcoin’s codebase.
Foundry said the decision to launch a Zcash mining pool reflects growing interest in privacy-focused digital assets. Company representatives noted that financial privacy remains a fundamental component of economic freedom.
They also emphasized that privacy-focused systems can coexist with institutional compliance requirements.
Zcash market volatility
Interest in Zcash increased significantly during the past year. The asset attracted attention across the cryptocurrency market, partly due to commentary from prominent industry figures.
According to CoinGecko data, the ZEC token experienced a major rally:
- below $35 in March 2025;
- peak of $698.87 on Nov. 16, 2025.
Since then, the price has corrected. The token declined about 58.7% year-to-date, falling from roughly $512 in early January to around $210 at the time of writing.
Source: CoinGecko
What the launch means for the mining industry
Despite the increased interest, Zcash mining remains concentrated among a small number of mining pools.
Data from Poolbay shows the following distribution of network hashrate:
- ViaBTC — about 31.7%;
- F2Pool — around 15.8%;
- smaller shares held by pools such as 2Miners and Antpool.
The launch of a new pool by Foundry could introduce additional competition within the crypto mining industry. If institutional miners join the platform, the network’s hashrate distribution could become more balanced.
In the long term, increased participation may strengthen the security and resilience of the Zcash blockchain.
