Foundry Digital is making waves in the crypto mining space once again—this time with a major push into privacy coins. The company has launched a new institutional-grade Zcash mining pool that has rapidly captured around one-third of the network’s total hashrate, giving it a significant role in producing new ZEC tokens.
The Rochester, New York-based firm, already known for operating one of the largest Bitcoin mining pools, is positioning this new offering as a compliant and reliable gateway for institutional players looking to enter the privacy coin market.
According to the company, the Zcash pool has seen “rapid and sustained growth” since its announcement on March 11. Within a short period, it has reached roughly 30% of the network’s hashrate, with multiple institutional miners already contributing computing power.
A Compliance-First Approach to Privacy Coins
Foundry is targeting professional mining firms and publicly listed companies that require regulatory clarity. The new pool includes features like know-your-customer (KYC) verification, anti-money laundering (AML) checks, transparent payout systems, and detailed reporting tools—similar to what Foundry already offers in its Bitcoin operations.
CEO Mike Colyer described the move as both timely and necessary. He noted that while Zcash has evolved into a more mature digital asset, its mining infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with institutional demand. The new pool, he said, is “purpose-built” to meet the operational and compliance needs of large-scale miners.
Zcash itself stands out in the privacy coin space due to its use of zero-knowledge proofs, specifically zk-SNARKs. This technology allows transactions to remain private while still offering an option for selective disclosure—something Foundry argues makes Zcash more compatible with regulators compared to fully anonymous alternatives like Monero.
Growing Influence Raises Centralization Concerns
While the move is attracting institutional interest, it is also raising eyebrows within the crypto community. A single mining pool controlling around one-third of a network’s hashrate is often seen as a potential risk to decentralization.
Foundry already plays a major role in Bitcoin mining, coordinating roughly 30% of global hashrate. Expanding that influence into Zcash has sparked fresh concerns about concentration of power in the hands of a single U.S.-based entity.
Critics argue that such dominance could impact network security or decision-making, even if no immediate risks are apparent. Supporters, however, point out that Foundry’s regulated and transparent approach could help legitimize privacy coins in the eyes of governments and institutional investors.
A Trade-Off for Zcash’s Future
For Zcash, the development highlights a key trade-off. On one hand, increased institutional participation brings more capital, stability, and mainstream credibility. On the other, it introduces questions about centralization and the original ethos of decentralized networks.
As global regulators tighten oversight on digital assets—from stablecoins to tokenized markets—Zcash appears to be leaning into a model that balances privacy with compliance. Foundry’s new mining pool may be a step in that direction, but whether the ecosystem embraces this shift fully remains to be seen.
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