Grayscale: Zcash mining rewards beat Bitcoin 2x per machine
Zcash (ZEC)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
news.bitcoin.com reports that Grayscale estimates Zcash mining rewards are roughly twice those of Bitcoin per machine. The firm links this profitability to stronger token prices, which encourage more mining activity and support network security. Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl outlined the comparison in an analysis on Sept. 11, noting that Zcash’s advantage reaches four times Bitcoin’s rewards per megawatt-hour of electricity.
The calculations assume electricity at $0.05 per kilowatt-hour and use the Bitmain S23 Hydro for Bitcoin and the Bitmain Z15 Pro for Zcash. Grayscale states, “At current valuations, Zcash mining can be highly profitable.” Mining activity has grown to more than 2.5 times its level at the start of the year. However, the two machines cannot switch between networks, limiting how operators respond to changing rewards. Aggregate Bitcoin miner rewards remain substantially higher at approximately $35 million daily compared with roughly $2 million for Zcash.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for ZEC, measured when this story was written up on 13 September 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Zcash is trading at $1,123.09 with a 24-hour buy ratio of 52.7%, indicating that buyers are slightly more active than sellers over the full day. However, the 1-hour buy ratio has dropped to 45.0%, suggesting that short-term buying pressure is fading relative to the longer timeframe. The 1-hour volume delta is negative at -$339,979, meaning more volume was sold than bought in the last hour. In contrast, the 24-hour volume delta is positive at +$12,248,646, showing that cumulative buying has outweighed selling over the day. This divergence indicates that while the day has seen net accumulation, recent hours have seen profit-taking or reduced demand.
The latest daily buy ratio of 52.9% sits at the 82nd percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 50.2% - stronger buying than most days.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for ZEC, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Over the preceding week, the average buy ratio was 50.5%, making today’s 24-hour ratio of 52.7% an unusually high day for buying pressure. The volume delta for the 8-day period totals +$32,871,567, confirming a sustained accumulation trend. Today’s volume was 0.77x the average, indicating that while buying intensity is high, the total volume traded is below the weekly norm. This suggests that the recent price increase of 9.5% is being driven by efficient buying rather than a surge in volume. The coin has seen net buying on 5 of the last 7 days, reinforcing the bullish structure observed in the daily data.