Zcash Mining Rewards and Network Hashrate Surge
Zcash mining has become more profitable than Bitcoin mining on a per-machine and electricity-efficiency basis, according to Grayscale research head Zach Pandl. Daily revenue per Zcash mining machine is about twice Bitcoin’s, while revenue per megawatt-hour is roughly four times higher.
The comparison used Bitmain’s S23 Hydro Bitcoin miner and Z15 Pro Zcash miner. It assumed electricity costs of $0.05 per kilowatt-hour, full-load operation and no transaction fees. Mining pool fees, cooling, equipment costs and other expenses were excluded, so actual Zcash mining profitability may be lower.
Higher ZEC prices have attracted additional mining activity. Zcash network hashrate has risen more than 2.5 times since the start of the year, potentially strengthening network security but also increasing difficulty and future miner selling pressure. Despite its higher efficiency, Zcash generates about $2 million in total daily mining rewards, compared with roughly $35 million for Bitcoin.
Grayscale’s Zcash investment products held more than $500 million in assets on 8 September, with cumulative external inflows exceeding $70 million. The combination of stronger mining economics, rising hashrate and investment inflows is supportive for ZEC, although traders should monitor network difficulty, miner sales and whether the rally can sustain its momentum.
Bullish
The news is broadly bullish for ZEC because higher mining rewards, strong power efficiency and more than $500 million in Grayscale product assets indicate improving network economics and investor interest. The more than 2.5-fold increase in Zcash hashrate also suggests that miners are allocating additional computing power to the network, which may improve security and support longer-term confidence.
In the short term, traders may interpret the mining profitability and investment inflows as confirmation of ZEC’s price strength. However, the signal is not unambiguously positive. Rising hashrate can increase network difficulty, reducing future miner margins. Miners may also sell part of their rewards to cover operating costs, creating supply pressure. Zcash’s total daily mining rewards remain far below Bitcoin’s, and the profitability comparison excludes several real-world expenses. Therefore, the likely impact is bullish but conditional, with volatility possible if ZEC’s price momentum weakens or miner selling increases.