Foundry Digital, the operator of the world's largest Bitcoin mining pool, has officially launched its Foundry Zcash Pool, an institutional-grade mining service for the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash (ZEC). The pool, announced in March, has seen rapid adoption, already capturing approximately 29-30% of the Zcash network's total hashrate and a similar share of new ZEC issuance.
The launch is targeted at institutional and public mining companies, offering a "U.S.-based, compliance-ready partner" with features including KYC verification, anti-money laundering checks, transparent payout calculations, and 24/7 technical support. Foundry CEO Mike Colyer stated the move addresses a critical infrastructure gap, arguing that "Zcash has matured into an institutional-grade asset, but the mining infrastructure supporting it hasn't kept pace."
Alongside the mining pool, Foundry unveiled Zcashinfo.com, a new block explorer built specifically for the Zcash blockchain. Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox, Chief Product Officer of Shielded Labs, welcomed the development, saying, "I'm happy that Foundry is bringing their institutional credibility and long-term commitment to Zcash."
The launch highlights Zcash's unique privacy model, which uses zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs) to enable shielded transactions while allowing for selective disclosure to auditors or regulators. Foundry positions this as more compatible with institutional compliance than fully opaque privacy coins like Monero.
However, the rapid centralization of hashrate under a single U.S.-regulated operator has stoked fresh decentralization concerns. Foundry USA Pool already commands around 29-31% of global Bitcoin production. The addition of a Zcash pool with a similar market share further concentrates influence over block production within one corporate group.
The news comes as ZEC's price has surged recently, jumping 73% over the last month to around $354, including a 42% rise in the past week. This follows a significant rally last fall where ZEC rose from about $50 to nearly $700 within two months.
