Key Insights:
- Grayscale purports that Zcash crypto mining is more profitable than Bitcoin mining.
- Zcash crypto price action outperformed Bitcoin in the last 3 months.
- Bitcoin dominance cooled substantially, while Zcash dominance has been growing aggressively.
A Zcash crypto comparison versus Bitcoin hardly seems fair. But it turns out that privacy does have some merits, which it compares strongly against the grandfather of cryptocurrencies.
For starters, both Zcash crypto and Bitcoin operate on proof-of-work consensus mechanisms. Bitcoin mining profitability is a critical part of the overall operation. That’s why a recent statement by Grayscale’s head of research has piqued interest among observers.
Grayscale’s Zach Pandl recently stated that Zcash crypto mining was more profitable for an individual than Bitcoin mining. He noted that Bitcoin mining had higher miner rewards at $35 million per day, while Zcash mining had $2 million in aggregate miner rewards.
Pandl, however, noted that Zcash crypto mining rewards were two times higher than those of Bitcoin per mining rig. Moreover, he revealed that Zcash mining rewards were 4 times higher per megawatt-hour than Bitcoin’s.
Miners have no doubt noticed this, and this would explain why the Zcash hash rate has been rising steadily for months. It surged from as low as 17.6 Gsol/s to as high as 28.3 Gsol/s in the last 3 months.
Zcash Crypto Price Action Outpaced Bitcoin Price in the Last 3 Months
Zcash mining profitability isn’t the only thing drawing comparisons to Bitcoin. The privacy coin delivered a more impressive performance than the king of cryptos over the same 3-month period.
For context, the ZCash crypto price posted a 174% rally from its opening to closing price over the last 3 months. In contrast, Bitcoin price was up about 31% during the same period.
In other words, Zcash was more profitable for holders than Bitcoin. Miner profitability has been an attractive force, strengthening the network and working in ZEC crypto’s favor. Moreover, the privacy narrative has been going strong this year.
ZEC crypto also had the benefit of being a much newer player compared to Bitcoin. In other words, it had a much higher ceiling compared to its more popular counterpart.
Bitcoin and Zcash Crypto Demonstrate an Inverse Relationship in Dominance
Crypto dominance offers a rough idea of how well a coin or token can command liquidity. Bitcoin dominance dropped considerably from June to September 2025. It has been hovering between 58% and 60%.
When BTC dominance hovers below 60%, the market tends to allocate more to altcoins. Unsurprisingly, ZEC crypto has been climbing the ranks in terms of dominance.
For context, ZEC dominance hovered as low as 0.14% in March 2025, but it recently peaked as high as 0.80%.
The rising dominance of ZEC reflects its ability to capitalize on the aggressive demand for privacy coins. More importantly, Zcash has certainly proved itself as a heavy hitter.
However, despite its glorious rise, Zcash crypto still has a long way to go before it can compete with Bitcoin on a level playing field. Nevertheless, the dawn of crypto regulation appears to be one of the key drivers that have brought Zcash into the mainstream.
In a world where blockchain technology offers unparalleled transparency, privacy coins offer a unique appeal. The ZEC crypto is currently at the top of that food chain, and this explains why both whales and institutions have been lining up.
