Zcash Tops $1,000, But Rising Computing Power Blunts Mining Windfall
Zcash surged above $1,000 for the first time in its mature trading history, but the milestone has done little to improve mining economics as new computing power floods onto the network.
A Bitmain Antminer Z15 Pro is generating an estimated $708 in gross revenue per megawatt-hour of electricity, according to TheEnergyMag’s analysis as of Friday. That is about 3% less than the $727.30 per MWh recorded on Aug. 24, when ZEC was trading below $900.
The figures show how quickly competition among miners can absorb gains in the underlying token. ZEC traded as high as about $1,023 on Friday, up roughly 15% from the peak cited in TheEnergyMag’s previous analysis. Over the same period, the network’s computing power, known as solrate, increased from about 25 GSol/s to more than 30 GSol/s, according to Zcashinfo data.
That increase of more than 20% reduced the share of network rewards attributable to each machine, more than offsetting the benefit of the higher ZEC price.
At Bitmain’s specified power consumption of 2,780 watts, revenue of $708 per MWh equates to roughly $47 a day for a Z15 Pro before electricity, hosting, maintenance and other operating costs. The comparable Aug. 24 estimate was about $48.50 a day.
Solrate is Zcash’s term for hashrate. It is not measured by counting machines. Zcashinfo estimates it from network difficulty and Zcash’s targeted block interval, meaning short-term readings can fluctuate. The broader increase nevertheless indicates that substantially more Equihash computing capacity is competing for the same stream of block rewards.
A rise from 25 GSol/s to 30 GSol/s is equivalent to adding almost 6,000 Z15 Pro machines operating at their rated capacity, although the network contains a mix of hardware and the data cannot identify individual miners.
The timing is consistent with new Z15 Pro units entering service. Bitmain announced another batch in February at $4,999 per machine, with shipment planned for May. The manufacturer rates the model at 840 KSol/s and 2,780 watts. Units delivered in subsequent months appear to be reaching hosting sites and being connected to the network.
The dynamic is familiar across proof-of-work mining. A rising token price initially increases revenue for existing operators, encouraging them to deploy more machines. As additional computing power arrives, network difficulty adjusts upward and each machine earns fewer coins. Unless the token continues appreciating faster than solrate, revenue per unit of electricity eventually compresses.
ZEC’s move above $1,000 remains a significant market milestone. The token briefly reached approximately $1,023 on Friday as its market capitalization approached $17 billion, according to CoinDesk. The rally liquidated about $34.5 million of bearish leveraged positions and extended its gain over the previous month to roughly 94%.
The advance followed the conversion of Grayscale’s Zcash trust into an exchange-traded product. The vehicle changed its name to The Zcash ETF and began trading on NYSE Arca under the ticker ZCSH in late August, according to regulatory filings.
