Foundry launches Zcash pool, hits 29% share

Foundry Digital has officially launched its Zcash mining pool, opening its first mining-pool business outside Bitcoin and bringing several institutional miners onto the privacy-focused network. The company said the pool has grown to about 30% of the Zcash network hashrate since it was first announced on March 11.

On-chain data cited by Decrypt put the pool’s share at about 29% at launch, which still makes Foundry one of the largest players on the network, less than a month after rollout. Foundry also launched Zcashinfo.com, a new block explorer that tracks pool rankings, hashrate distribution, and block data.

The launch gives Zcash a new institutional channel

Foundry built its reputation by running the largest Bitcoin mining pool, and the Zcash move brings that same institutional pitch to a smaller and more specialized network. The company says the new pool is aimed at professional mining groups and public companies looking for a US-based, compliance-ready partner.

That is a meaningful change for Zcash because large mining operators have had few pool options built for institutions. Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox said Foundry’s mining pool and explorer add useful infrastructure to the ecosystem, while Foundry chief executive Mike Colyer said the launch is meant to help scale privacy-preserving infrastructure that institutions can rely on.

The pool is already changing the network share

The speed of the pool’s rise is the main story. Decrypt reported that Foundry USA Pool accounts for about 29% of Bitcoin production among mining pools, and Foundry’s Zcash pool has quickly reached a similar share on the Zcash network.

That early traction is already changing the balance of mining power in Zcash. Data revealed that ViaBTC’s dominance fell from about 65% to 37% after Foundry entered the market, suggesting the new pool has started to loosen the grip of the network’s previous leader rather than just adding another minor venue.

Foundry is betting that privacy mining can scale

Foundry’s March announcement made clear that Zcash was not a side project. The company said it would bring the same auditable payouts, reporting standards, and support structure it built in Bitcoin to Zcash, with a focus on miners that need more formal operating rails.

For Zcash, the launch shows that privacy coins are still drawing serious infrastructure investment even as regulation around the sector remains uneven. For Foundry, it is a bet that institutional miners want exposure beyond Bitcoin, but only through platforms that offer the compliance and reporting standards they already know.