Foundry Digital Disrupts Zcash Mining Dominance with New Institutional Pool

Foundry Digital, the operator of the largest Bitcoin mining pool, has officially entered the Zcash ecosystem, capturing nearly 30% of the network's hashrate within its first month of operation. The company stated that the new pool provides a compliant, purpose-built solution for institutional and public miners. This shift addresses long-standing security concerns regarding hashrate centralization. Previously, ViaBTC held a dominant position, which Coinbase had flagged as a potential risk to the network's integrity in September 2023. By diversifying the computing power securing the blockchain, the network becomes more resilient to single-point failures or manipulation. Data indicates that Foundry's Zcash Pool has secured a 29.2% share of the hashrate, causing ViaBTC's share to plummet from 68.1% on February 27 to 37%. The new pool has already mined 2,344 blocks, with each block providing a subsidy of 1.25 ZEC, currently valued at approximately $458. The institutional entry has coincided with a strong rally for ZEC, which has surged 77.2% over the last month and 1,050% over the past year. Zcash now holds a $6.2 billion market capitalization, ranking as the fifth-largest proof-of-work token, trailing only Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Monero.