Foundry Just Mined 29% of Zcash—And the Network Didn’t Even Have Time to Whisper “zk-SNARK”

Foundry Digital didn’t just dip a toe into Zcash mining—they cannonballed straight into the pool. Launched Monday, their new Zcash mining operation is already slurping up roughly 29% of the network’s hashrate, per on-chain tea leaves. That’s right: in the time it takes most people to decide between a coffee or a crypto scam, Foundry went from “just a press release” to de facto Zcash overlord. The move follows their March announcement, which now looks less like a promise and more like a warning label: Caution: Institutional Giants May Suddenly Appear and Absorb Your Decentralized Network.

“The launch of Foundry Zcash Pool reflects years of building infrastructure that institutions trust and a responsibility we're committed to living up to in the Zcash ecosystem,” said CEO Mike Colyer, presumably while sipping a smoothie made from pure decentralization ethics. “Zcash offers something genuinely important to the digital asset ecosystem: verifiable financial privacy on a transparent blockchain.” Or, in degen speak: “It’s like sending a DM instead of posting on X—only with math so advanced it makes your GPU cry.”

Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox, who’s seen more mining drama than a Game of Thrones finale, gave the nod. “I'm happy that Foundry is bringing their institutional credibility and long-term commitment to Zcash,” he said. “Their mining pool and their Zcashinfo.com explorer are valuable additions to Zcash's infrastructure.” Translation: “Yes, I still control my own narrative, but it helps when the biggest kid on the Bitcoin block shows up with servers and a website.”

And speaking of websites, meet Zcashinfo.com—Foundry’s shiny new block explorer that’s basically Zcash’s LinkedIn: clean, professional, and suddenly making everyone else look like they’re still using GeoCities. It’s not just a pool; it’s a full-service spa for Zcash validators, complete with analytics, uptime guarantees, and the kind of corporate polish that makes crypto anarchists side-eye their tinfoil hats.

Market vibes? Oh, they’re buzzing. $ZEC has rocketed 73% in the past month to $354, with a 42% moon leap just last week—apparently privacy coins are back in fashion, like mom jeans but with more cryptography. Traders on Myriad, though, are hitting the brakes. The odds of $ZEC hitting $420 by April have cratered from 63% on Friday to just 23%. Either the crowd’s spooked, or someone misplaced their hopium inhaler.