Zcash mining rewards are roughly twice those of Bitcoin per machine and four times higher per unit of electricity consumed, according to a Grayscale analysis published September 11. Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl outlined the comparison, noting that at current valuations, Zcash mining can be highly profitable and is encouraging increased mining activity that supports network security.
Both Bitcoin and Zcash use proof-of-work mining, in which specialized computers compete to earn rewards and add transaction blocks to the blockchain. Grayscale's estimates were based on the Bitmain S23 Hydro for Bitcoin and the Bitmain Z15 Pro for Zcash, assuming electricity costs of $0.05 per kilowatt-hour, full uptime, and zero transaction fees using data from September 9. The analysis excludes pool fees, cooling costs, other operating expenses, and equipment depreciation, which significantly affect actual miner profitability.
Mining activity on Zcash has grown to more than 2.5 times its level at the start of the year, according to Grayscale. However, the two specialized machines cannot switch between networks, limiting how operators can respond to changing market conditions. Additionally, rising network difficulty can reduce revenue as competition for rewards increases.
Despite the per-machine advantage, Bitcoin's mining network distributes substantially more total rewards. Grayscale estimates aggregate Bitcoin miner rewards at approximately $35 million daily, compared with roughly $2 million for Zcash, reflecting the different sizes of each network's reward pool.
Grayscale's assessment comes as the firm's own Zcash investment product surpassed $500 million in assets by September 8, following its listing on NYSE Arca on August 25.
