Foundry will launch an institutional Zcash mining pool to fill the compliance infrastructure gap

According to CoinDesk, btc-42">Bitcoin mining pool operator Foundry Digital plans to launch a domestic Zcash mining pool in the U.S. next month, providing a mining platform built around compliance reviews, reporting standards, and operational controls for institutional and publicly traded company miners.

Foundry CEO Mike Colyer stated that Zcash has evolved into an institutional-grade asset, but its mining infrastructure has not kept pace. He pointed out that institutional and publicly traded miners looking to gain exposure to Zcash previously lacked a compliance-specific infrastructure in the U.S. The mining pool will implement KYC and anti-money laundering compliance reviews for participants, with mining rewards distributed through transparent Zcash addresses rather than concealed ones, using a PPLNS payment model, and with no minimum hash rate threshold.

Privacy coins have recently regained market attention, with ZEC rising over 670% in the past 12 months, XMR increasing by 72% during the same period, and DASH up by 51%. After Bitcoin's halving in 2024, mining profitability has tightened, with hash rate prices dropping from over $60 per PH to $30, prompting several large mining companies to explore other PoW networks to diversify their revenue sources. Colyer stated that this move is not primarily in response to declining Bitcoin profits, as Foundry's Bitcoin mining business remains solid, and the company is currently focused on both Bitcoin and Zcash chains.