Zcash Mining Rewards Surge Past Bitcoin in Per Rig and MWh Earnings

A recent report by Grayscale Research has highlighted the growing disparity in miner rewards between Bitcoin (BTC) and Zcash (ZEC). According to the data, a single ZEC rig now earns nearly twice the daily reward of a comparable BTC machine, while revenue per megawatt-hour runs near four times higher than BTC.

The shift in rewards is attributed to a sharp rise in ZEC-hashpower through 2026, which has created a short-term profit window for existing operators. Grayscale notes that rising token prices have lifted the dollar value of block rewards faster than difficulty adjusted upward.

While BTC miners still collect close to $35 million a day in combined rewards, ZEC miners gather nearer $2 million a day in total. However, this gap reflects BTC's much larger scale, not weaker ZEC-hardware. The current setup may be self-reinforcing, with higher rewards drawing more machines and strengthening network security over time.

Grayscale advises that actual returns on both coins depend on token prices, electricity costs, and difficulty resets that can shift within weeks.