Bitcoin vs Zcash: Grayscale Reveals Which Is More Profitable to Mine

What happened

Grayscale Research analyzed Bitcoin and Zcash mining profitability, finding that Zcash mining is currently more profitable per machine and per unit of electricity, while Bitcoin dominates in total scale. The analysis was led by research director Zach Pandl.

Confirmed

Global impact / market context

Miners decide which cryptocurrency to mine based on profit per machine and electricity cost. If Zcash offers better returns, some miners may switch from Bitcoin, potentially reducing Bitcoin's network security or hash rate, while increasing Zcash's. Investors in these coins could see price changes due to mining shifts.

Analyst inference

Cryptocurrency mining profitability depends on coin price, network difficulty, and energy costs. Grayscale's research highlights a current advantage for Zcash, which may attract miners and increase its hash rate. This could raise Zcash's production cost, potentially supporting its price, while Bitcoin's dominance remains in overall scale.

Analyst inference

What to watch

1. Grayscale's research explicitly states Zcash mining currently delivers stronger returns per machine and per unit of electricity compared to Bitcoin. Watch for any updates to this analysis from Grayscale. Confirmed
2. Track Bitcoin's hash rate and Zcash's hash rate over coming months. If miners act on the profitability gap, we could see a measurable shift in computing power between the two networks. Proposed
3. Monitor electricity prices and cryptocurrency prices. If Bitcoin's price rises or Zcash's falls, the profitability gap may narrow, reducing the incentive for miners to switch. Conversely, higher energy costs could amplify Zcash's relative advantage. Analyst inference

Affected assets

• ZEC — Zcash
• BTC — Bitcoin

Evidence

• beincrypto.com