{"id":2984,"date":"2026-04-13T12:32:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/?p=2984"},"modified":"2026-04-13T12:32:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:32:47","slug":"zcash-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/zcash-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Foundry\u2019s Zcash Pool Grabs 30% Hashrate, Sparks Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"gb-block-image gb-block-image-091533f2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" class=\"gb-image gb-image-091533f2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2026-04-13T220050.877.webp\" alt=\"Foundry\u2019s Zcash Pool Grabs 30% Hashrate, Sparks Debate\" title=\"Untitled design - 2026-04-13T220050.877\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2026-04-13T220050.877.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2026-04-13T220050.877-300x157.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2026-04-13T220050.877-768x402.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Foundry Digital is making waves in the crypto mining space once again\u2014this time with a major push into privacy coins. The company has launched a new institutional-grade <a href=\"https:\/\/z.cash\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zcash <\/a>mining pool that has rapidly captured around one-third of the network\u2019s total hashrate, giving it a significant role in producing new ZEC tokens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the company, the Zcash pool has seen \u201crapid and sustained growth\u201d since its announcement on March 11. Within a short period, it has reached roughly 30% of the network\u2019s hashrate, with multiple institutional miners already contributing computing power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Compliance-First Approach to Privacy Coins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2014similar to what Foundry already offers in its Bitcoin operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">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\u2019t kept pace with institutional demand. The new pool, he said, is \u201cpurpose-built\u201d to meet the operational and compliance needs of large-scale miners.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2014something Foundry argues makes Zcash more compatible with regulators compared to fully anonymous alternatives like Monero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Growing Influence Raises Centralization Concerns<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2019s hashrate is often seen as a potential risk to decentralization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2019s regulated and transparent approach could help legitimize privacy coins in the eyes of governments and institutional investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Trade-Off for Zcash\u2019s Future<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As global regulators tighten oversight on digital assets\u2014from stablecoins to tokenized markets\u2014Zcash appears to be leaning into a model that balances privacy with compliance. Foundry\u2019s new mining pool may be a step in that direction, but whether the ecosystem embraces this shift fully remains to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also read :<a href=\"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/bitcoin-61\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> US Moves Seized Bitcoin in Steroid Case Transfer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Foundry Digital is making waves in the crypto mining space once again\u2014this time with a major push into privacy coins. &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Foundry\u2019s Zcash Pool Grabs 30% Hashrate, Sparks Debate\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/zcash-8\/#more-2984\" aria-label=\"Read more about Foundry\u2019s Zcash Pool Grabs 30% Hashrate, Sparks Debate\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2985,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[7081,7075,7079,7082,7071,7076,7080,7083,7073,7077,7084,7072,7085,7078,7074],"class_list":["post-2984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency","tag-bitcoin-mining-giant-foundry-expansion-into-zcash","tag-crypto-mining-centralization-concerns-foundry-pool","tag-foundry-crypto-mining-kyc-aml-compliant-pool","tag-foundry-digital-zcash-hashrate-growth","tag-foundry-zcash-mining-pool-news-2026","tag-future-of-privacy-coins-regulation-and-mining","tag-impact-of-foundry-on-zcash-decentralization","tag-institutional-crypto-mining-infrastructure-usa-zcash","tag-institutional-zcash-mining-pool-usa","tag-privacy-coin-mining-institutional-adoption-zcash","tag-regulated-crypto-mining-pools-for-institutions","tag-zcash-mining-pool-30-percent-hashrate-foundry","tag-zcash-network-hashrate-distribution-analysis-2026","tag-zcash-vs-monero-compliance-privacy-coins-comparison","tag-zcash-zk-snarks-privacy-technology-explained","resize-featured-image"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2026-04-13T220050.877.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2984"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2986,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2984\/revisions\/2986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- This website is optimized by Airlift. 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