Zcash Mining activity significantly heated up in 2026. Grayscale The research supervisor Zach Pandl stated that as ZEC prices rose, the total computing power of the network has more than doubled from the beginning of the year. Calculated per unit of electricity, the current mining revenue is approximately four times that of Bitcoin.
Single-machine revenue exceeds that of Bitcoin.
Pandl Estimates show that Zcash miners currently earn a total of about 2 million US dollars per day, while the entire Bitcoin network generates approximately 35 million US dollars. The total revenue from Bitcoin still far exceeds Zcash, due to the larger scale of its network computing power.
However, when comparing per device, Grayscale believes that the daily income of Zcash miners is approximately twice that of comparable Bitcoin miners. When calculated in megawatt-hours, the mining income advantage of Zcash further increases.
It is mentioned in the text that this comparison is based on revenue rather than net profit. The actual return will still be affected by electricity prices, equipment procurement, cooling, maintenance, site costs, and mining pool fees.
Growth in computing power intensifies network competition
Zcash adopts a proof-of-work mechanism, where miners participate in block generation using Equihash algorithmic devices, which are not compatible with the SHA-256 devices used by Bitcoin. This means that miners cannot switch the same set of machines between the two networks based on short-term profit changes.
As more devices join, the network security of Zcash has been enhanced, but the competition faced by individual machines has also increased. The article states that Zcash will adjust the mining difficulty according to the total network computing power. If the growth in computing power exceeds that of the coin price and transaction fee income, the output of a single machine will be reduced.
In addition, Zcash adopts a scarcity model similar to that of Bitcoin, with a total cap of 21 million coins, and the block reward is regularly reduced. With the decrease in new coin issuance, miners' income becomes more dependent on rising coin prices, increased transaction fees, or improved equipment efficiency.
ZEC Surge Changes Income Structure
Mining profits have improved, mainly due to the significant increase of ZEC in 2026. On September 4th, ZEC rose by 20% in a single day, with the price breaking through $1000 for the first time, and approximately 34.5 million US dollars in short positions were liquidated within 24 hours.
The report mentioned that ZEC rose by approximately 2300% from its level of around $42 in September 2025. When it broke through $1,000, the trading volume reached $1.2 billion, and its market value soared to about $16.8 billion.
However, price fluctuations can also rapidly change miners' earnings in US dollars. CoinGecko data shows that on September 11th, the price was ZEC at $1093, but it fell by nearly 11% within 24 hours. With continued growth in computing power, if prices decline, the earnings per machine could come under further pressure.
ZCSH Provides an investment entry point for the United States
In addition to mining data, Grayscale is also advancing investment products related to Zcash. On August 25th, the company converted its existing Zcash Trust into an exchange product listed on NYSE Arca, with the code ZCSH.
This product allows American investors to track the price of ZEC through their brokerage accounts, without the need to directly buy tokens or mine them themselves. Grayscale sets an annual fee of 2.5% and states that the related income will be used for network development, market promotion, and other Zcash related tasks.
Before the conversion for listing, the product was traded on the OTCQX market. According to the data, the asset size of the fund exceeded $313.5 million before listing, with Coinbase Custody as the custodian and BNY Mellon as the management institution.
Additional information:The August update file from Grayscale also revealed that a subsidiary of its parent company, Digital Currency Group, had considered an investment linked to approximately 200,000 ZEC. However, the related discussions were not binding, and it is possible that more could have been purchased, less could have been purchased, or no investment at all might have been made.
