Foundry Shows Up to Zcash's Privacy Party, Walks Away With 29% of the Hashtag

Foundry Digital has officially crashed the Zcash mining scene, and the privacy coin's established players are feeling the squeeze. Think of it like that one friend who shows up uninvited to a house party and somehow ends up hosting the afterparty. Yeah, it's that kind of entrance.

Just one month after announcing its plans, Foundry's Zcash Pool has already snagged a hefty 29.2% of the network's hashrate. That's enough to send ViaBTC's dominance plummeting from around 65% down to a mere 37%. Apparently ViaBTC was living rent-free in Zcash's infrastructure for so long they forgot they were technically squatting.

"Institutional and public miners are seeking a compliant, purpose-built Zcash mining solution," Foundry noted on Monday. The company, which also happens to run the largest Bitcoin mining pool, didn't spill the tea on which institutional miners hopped on board—but someone clearly did. Mystery miners are basically the cryptoverse equivalent of that guy who ghosted you in 2019. You know they exist, but good luck finding them.

The new pool has already churned out 2,344 blocks since launching earlier this month. For context, Zcash blocks drop roughly every 75 seconds, each paying out 1.25 ZEC (about $458 at current prices). That's a lot of privacy, and apparently, a lot of institutional money behind it.

ViaBTC's hashrate dominance has taken a nosedive—from 68.1% on February 27 to just 37% now. Coinbase flagged ViaBTC's concentration as a security risk back in September 2023, so this shift might not be the worst thing for the network. When even Coinbase—the exchange that listed Dogecoin because it "felt like a meme"—tells you something's risky, maybe listen.

ZEC has been on an absolute heater, up 1,050% over the past year—including a 77.2% rally in the last month alone following Foundry's initial announcement. The privacy coin now sits as the fifth-largest proof-of-work token with a $6.2 billion market cap, trailing Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and rival privacy coin Monero. Yes, Zcash is outperforming Dogecoin's vibes. Let that sink in.