The most expensive mistake in Zcash mining happens before a single share is submitted: pasting the wrong type of wallet address into the pool. Zcash has two, they look completely different, and most pools will only pay to one of them. Get it wrong and your first payout goes nowhere. That single detail is why a generic “plug it in and go” guide is not enough for ZEC.
The rest of it is mechanical. Zcash runs on Equihash, which in 2026 means an ASIC rather than a graphics card, and once you have the machine the process is the same every time: wallet, pool, power, boot, configure, verify. This guide walks the whole sequence from opening the box to watching the first ZEC land, including the address trap, the pool settings that actually matter, and what to check when the hashrate looks wrong. If you are still deciding whether to mine ZEC at all, start with what Zcash mining is.
The rest of it is mechanical. Zcash runs on Equihash, which in 2026 means an ASIC rather than a graphics card, and once you have the machine the process is the same every time: wallet, pool, power, boot, configure, verify. This guide walks the whole sequence from opening the box to watching the first ZEC land, including the address trap, the pool settings that actually matter, and what to check when the hashrate looks wrong. If you are still deciding whether to mine ZEC at all, start with what Zcash mining is.
What you need to mine Zcash
- An Equihash ASIC: an Antminer Z15 Pro (840 kSol/s) or Z15 (420 kSol/s). GPUs are no longer viable for ZEC.
- A Zcash wallet with a transparent address: one that starts with t1 or t3. Pools pay here, not to shielded addresses.
- A mining pool account: solo mining is not realistic at current difficulty.
- A 220V circuit and wired ethernet: these machines draw 1,510 W to 2,780 W continuously and need a cable, not wifi.
- Time to first payout: typically hours to a few days, depending on your pool's minimum payout threshold.
Can you still mine Zcash with a GPU?
No, not in any meaningful way. Zcash launched GPU-friendly and stayed that way for years, but Equihash ASICs ended that era. A modern graphics card mining ZEC is a learning exercise rather than an earning one, because purpose-built Equihash hardware delivers vastly more solutions per watt. If you want to mine Zcash for returns rather than curiosity, you need an ASIC. That is the starting assumption for everything below.
What do you need before you start?
Get these five things lined up before the machine arrives and the setup takes an afternoon rather than a week. The sequence matters, particularly the wallet, because you cannot configure a pool without a payout address to point it at.
Step 1: Which Zcash miner should you buy?
Two machines carry the Zcash network in 2026, both from Bitmain's Z-series. The Antminer Z15 Pro runs 840 kSol/s at 2,780 W and is the standard choice, delivering the best returns of the pair. The Antminer Z15 runs 420 kSol/s at 1,510 W, roughly half the output for a lower purchase price and an easier power requirement, which makes it the more practical entry point for a first machine at home.
Z15 Pro: 840 kSol/s · 2,780 W | Z15: 420 kSol/s · 1,510 W | Both: Equihash, wired ethernet, 220V
Which to buy comes down to the price you are quoted and the power you can actually supply, a decision covered properly in our Z15 vs Z15 Pro comparison. Both are listed under Zcash and other ASIC miners. One point worth knowing before you commit: these machines mine any Equihash coin, not just Zcash, so the hardware keeps its usefulness if ZEC conditions change.
Which to buy comes down to the price you are quoted and the power you can actually supply, a decision covered properly in our Z15 vs Z15 Pro comparison. Both are listed under Zcash and other ASIC miners. One point worth knowing before you commit: these machines mine any Equihash coin, not just Zcash, so the hardware keeps its usefulness if ZEC conditions change.
Step 2: How do you set up a Zcash wallet?
This is the step that costs people money, so do it before anything else and test it. Zcash has two address types and they are not interchangeable for mining.
Transparent addresses start with t1 or t3 and behave like a Bitcoin address: visible on the blockchain, universally supported. Shielded addresses start with zs or u and use zero-knowledge proofs to keep the transaction private. Shielded addresses are the point of Zcash, but almost every mining pool requires a transparent one for payouts, and entering a shielded address as your payout destination is a common way for funds to fail to arrive.
Do this: mine to a transparent (t) address, then move your ZEC to a shielded address afterwards if you want privacy. Privacy comes after the payout, not during it. Always confirm the accepted address format in your pool's own documentation before you start.
For the wallet itself you have three sensible options: an official Zcash wallet from the Electric Coin Company or a reputable third-party wallet, a hardware wallet for larger balances, or an exchange deposit address if you plan to sell as you go. Whichever you pick, send a small test transaction to the address first and confirm it arrives. Two minutes of testing now prevents a lost payout later.
Do this: mine to a transparent (t) address, then move your ZEC to a shielded address afterwards if you want privacy. Privacy comes after the payout, not during it. Always confirm the accepted address format in your pool's own documentation before you start.
For the wallet itself you have three sensible options: an official Zcash wallet from the Electric Coin Company or a reputable third-party wallet, a hardware wallet for larger balances, or an exchange deposit address if you plan to sell as you go. Whichever you pick, send a small test transaction to the address first and confirm it arrives. Two minutes of testing now prevents a lost payout later.
Step 3: How do you choose a mining pool?
Solo mining Zcash is not realistic for an individual at current difficulty, so you join a pool and take a steady share of its rewards instead of waiting years for a block. Four things separate a good pool from a bad one, and hashrate is not one of them.
- Fee: typically 0.5% to 2%. It comes straight off your revenue, every day.
- Payout threshold: the minimum ZEC before the pool sends anything. A high threshold on a single machine means waiting longer for the first payment.
- Server location: pick the region closest to your machine. Distance means latency, and latency means stale shares, which are simply lost revenue.
- Payout model: PPS pays a fixed amount per share submitted, PPLNS pays based on blocks the pool actually finds. PPS is steadier, PPLNS can pay more over time.
Our mining pools page covers the options, and the mining pool comparison guide explains the payout models in more depth if the PPS versus PPLNS distinction is new. Create the account, then find the pool's Equihash or Zcash stratum details, since you will need them in step six.
Step 4: What power and space does the miner need?
A Z15 Pro pulls 2,780 watts continuously, which is more than most household appliances combined and considerably more than a standard wall socket is designed to deliver. Plan for a dedicated 220V to 240V circuit for either machine, sized with headroom rather than run at its limit. This is electrical work, and if you are not confident in the circuit, have an electrician confirm it before you plug anything in.
Beyond power, the machine needs a wired ethernet connection, since these units do not use wifi and a dropped connection means lost shares. It also needs real airflow: cool air in one end, hot air out the other, with nothing recirculating. Expect meaningful noise and meaningful heat, which is a genuine consideration in a home. Our guide on reducing ASIC miner noise covers what actually helps and what does not.
Beyond power, the machine needs a wired ethernet connection, since these units do not use wifi and a dropped connection means lost shares. It also needs real airflow: cool air in one end, hot air out the other, with nothing recirculating. Expect meaningful noise and meaningful heat, which is a genuine consideration in a home. Our guide on reducing ASIC miner noise covers what actually helps and what does not.
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Step 5: How do you boot the miner and find it on your network?
Connect the ethernet cable first, then power. The machine takes a couple of minutes to boot and will pull an IP address from your router automatically. Finding that address is the only fiddly part of the process, and there are three reliable ways: press the IP reporter button on the unit, check the connected-devices list in your router's admin page, or run a network scanner on a computer on the same network.
Once you have the IP, type it into a browser on the same network and you will get the miner's web interface, which asks for a username and password. Change the default credentials immediately; a mining machine reachable on default logins is a genuine security risk. The general process here is identical across Antminers, and our guide to setting up an ASIC miner walks through it with screenshots if you want the visual version.
Once you have the IP, type it into a browser on the same network and you will get the miner's web interface, which asks for a username and password. Change the default credentials immediately; a mining machine reachable on default logins is a genuine security risk. The general process here is identical across Antminers, and our guide to setting up an ASIC miner walks through it with screenshots if you want the visual version.
Step 6: How do you configure the pool?
Inside the miner's interface, find the pool or miner configuration page. You will see three fields repeated across three slots, and the three slots exist for failover: if pool one goes down, the machine moves to pool two automatically. Fill all three, using the same pool in different regions or two different pools.
URL: your pool's Equihash stratum address, usually in the form stratum+tcp://server:port
Worker: normally your transparent ZEC address, then a dot, then a name for the machine, such as t1YourAddress.rig01
Password: most pools accept anything here; x is the usual convention
Save, then let the machine apply the settings and restart its mining process. Within a minute or two it should begin submitting shares. The exact field names vary slightly between pools, and every pool publishes its own connection details, so use theirs rather than guessing. If you want a worked example of this exact process on a specific pool, our AntPool first-boot and pool configuration guide and F2Pool setup guide both walk it through end to end.
URL: your pool's Equihash stratum address, usually in the form stratum+tcp://server:port
Worker: normally your transparent ZEC address, then a dot, then a name for the machine, such as t1YourAddress.rig01
Password: most pools accept anything here; x is the usual convention
Save, then let the machine apply the settings and restart its mining process. Within a minute or two it should begin submitting shares. The exact field names vary slightly between pools, and every pool publishes its own connection details, so use theirs rather than guessing. If you want a worked example of this exact process on a specific pool, our AntPool first-boot and pool configuration guide and F2Pool setup guide both walk it through end to end.
Step 7: When do you get your first payout?
Two places tell you it is working. The miner's own status page should show a hashrate close to the machine's rated figure, 840 kSol/s for a Z15 Pro, along with board temperatures and fan speeds. Your pool dashboard should show your worker online with accepted shares climbing. Give it fifteen to thirty minutes before judging the hashrate, since pool-side figures are averaged and read low at first.
Payout timing depends on the pool's threshold and schedule rather than on your machine. Many pools pay daily once your balance clears their minimum, so with a single Z15 Pro expect your first ZEC within a day or so, sometimes sooner. Once it arrives, check the amount against expectations by running your actual power rate through the Zcash mining calculator. If reality is well below the estimate, the usual culprits are stale shares, downtime, or a hashrate quietly running under spec.
Payout timing depends on the pool's threshold and schedule rather than on your machine. Many pools pay daily once your balance clears their minimum, so with a single Z15 Pro expect your first ZEC within a day or so, sometimes sooner. Once it arrives, check the amount against expectations by running your actual power rate through the Zcash mining calculator. If reality is well below the estimate, the usual culprits are stale shares, downtime, or a hashrate quietly running under spec.
What if something goes wrong?
Most first-week problems are network, heat, or pool configuration rather than a broken machine. Work down this list before assuming a hardware fault or opening a warranty ticket.
One number worth internalising: uptime translates directly into revenue. Running at 95% instead of 100% costs you roughly 5% of your output, permanently. That is why persistent small issues, an intermittent network drop, a fan running hot, a pool server slightly too far away, matter more than they appear to. They do not stop the machine, they quietly tax it.
Should you run it at home or host it?
Zcash is one of the few coins where home mining genuinely works, because current margins are wide enough to absorb residential electricity rates. If you have a suitable 220V circuit, somewhere the noise will not be a problem, and tolerance for the heat, running a single machine at home is a legitimate choice. Our comparison of home mining versus hosted mining lays out the trade-off honestly.
The case for hosting is speed and simplicity rather than survival. Running the machine in a facility at industrial power rates means cheaper electricity, professional cooling, and the uptime that home setups struggle to hold, which together shorten how long the hardware takes to pay for itself. You keep the machine and every coin it mines. If you want to see it working before committing, a free 24-hour miner test puts you on real hosted hardware, and ASIC hosting in regulated US facilities is the production version.
The case for hosting is speed and simplicity rather than survival. Running the machine in a facility at industrial power rates means cheaper electricity, professional cooling, and the uptime that home setups struggle to hold, which together shorten how long the hardware takes to pay for itself. You keep the machine and every coin it mines. If you want to see it working before committing, a free 24-hour miner test puts you on real hosted hardware, and ASIC hosting in regulated US facilities is the production version.
What this guide will not tell you
Two honest limits. First, exact pool interfaces, stratum addresses, and payout thresholds change, and every pool documents its own. Treat the steps here as the shape of the process and your pool's documentation as the authority on its specific fields. Second, this guide covers how to mine Zcash, not whether you should. Returns depend on the ZEC price, network difficulty, your power rate, and what you paid for the hardware, all of which move. Before buying anything, model your own numbers, and read our companion piece, Is Zcash Mining Profitable, for the economics side of the decision.
The bottom line
Mining Zcash is a short, ordered process rather than a technical challenge: buy an Equihash ASIC, create a wallet and copy the transparent address, join a pool, give the machine proper power and a wired connection, boot it, paste in the stratum details, and watch the shares climb. The one step that deserves genuine care is the wallet, because a shielded address in the payout field is the difference between getting paid and wondering where your coins went. Get that right, keep the machine cool and online, and the rest runs itself.
Frequently asked questions
How do you mine Zcash?
Buy an Equihash ASIC such as the Antminer Z15 Pro or Z15, create a Zcash wallet and copy its transparent (t) address, join a mining pool, connect the machine to a 220V circuit and wired ethernet, power it on and find its IP address, enter the pool's stratum URL and your address in the miner's configuration page, then verify the hashrate and wait for your first payout. Setup takes an afternoon.
Can you mine Zcash with a GPU in 2026?
Not profitably. Zcash was GPU-mineable for years, but Equihash ASICs now dominate the network and deliver far more solutions per watt than any graphics card. Mining ZEC on a GPU today is a learning exercise rather than a way to earn. If you want returns, an Antminer Z15 or Z15 Pro is the practical requirement.
What wallet address do you use for Zcash mining?
A transparent address, starting with t1 or t3. Zcash also has shielded addresses starting with zs or u, but almost all mining pools require a transparent one and cannot reliably pay to a shielded address, so entering one as your payout destination is a common way for funds not to arrive. Mine to a transparent address, then move the ZEC to a shielded address afterwards if you want privacy.
What is the difference between a t-address and a z-address?
A transparent address (t-address) works like a Bitcoin address: transactions are visible on the blockchain and every service supports it. A shielded address (z-address) uses zero-knowledge proofs to hide transaction details, which is Zcash's core feature. For mining, the practical difference is simple: pools pay to t-addresses. Use a t-address for payouts and shield the funds afterwards.
Do you need a mining pool to mine Zcash?
In practice, yes. Solo mining means waiting to find an entire block yourself, which at current network difficulty is not realistic for an individual with one or two machines. A pool combines your hashrate with everyone else's and pays you a steady share of what it finds. Choose on fee, payout threshold, server location, and payout model rather than on advertised pool size.
How long does it take to get your first Zcash payout?
Usually within a day, sometimes sooner, though it depends entirely on your pool's minimum payout threshold and payment schedule rather than on your machine. Many pools pay daily once your balance clears their minimum. With a single Antminer Z15 Pro you should see shares accepted within minutes of configuring the pool, and your first ZEC shortly after the threshold is met.
Buy an Equihash ASIC such as the Antminer Z15 Pro or Z15, create a Zcash wallet and copy its transparent (t) address, join a mining pool, connect the machine to a 220V circuit and wired ethernet, power it on and find its IP address, enter the pool's stratum URL and your address in the miner's configuration page, then verify the hashrate and wait for your first payout. Setup takes an afternoon.
Can you mine Zcash with a GPU in 2026?
Not profitably. Zcash was GPU-mineable for years, but Equihash ASICs now dominate the network and deliver far more solutions per watt than any graphics card. Mining ZEC on a GPU today is a learning exercise rather than a way to earn. If you want returns, an Antminer Z15 or Z15 Pro is the practical requirement.
What wallet address do you use for Zcash mining?
A transparent address, starting with t1 or t3. Zcash also has shielded addresses starting with zs or u, but almost all mining pools require a transparent one and cannot reliably pay to a shielded address, so entering one as your payout destination is a common way for funds not to arrive. Mine to a transparent address, then move the ZEC to a shielded address afterwards if you want privacy.
What is the difference between a t-address and a z-address?
A transparent address (t-address) works like a Bitcoin address: transactions are visible on the blockchain and every service supports it. A shielded address (z-address) uses zero-knowledge proofs to hide transaction details, which is Zcash's core feature. For mining, the practical difference is simple: pools pay to t-addresses. Use a t-address for payouts and shield the funds afterwards.
Do you need a mining pool to mine Zcash?
In practice, yes. Solo mining means waiting to find an entire block yourself, which at current network difficulty is not realistic for an individual with one or two machines. A pool combines your hashrate with everyone else's and pays you a steady share of what it finds. Choose on fee, payout threshold, server location, and payout model rather than on advertised pool size.
How long does it take to get your first Zcash payout?
Usually within a day, sometimes sooner, though it depends entirely on your pool's minimum payout threshold and payment schedule rather than on your machine. Many pools pay daily once your balance clears their minimum. With a single Antminer Z15 Pro you should see shares accepted within minutes of configuring the pool, and your first ZEC shortly after the threshold is met.
What power supply does an Antminer Z15 Pro need?
A dedicated 220V to 240V circuit. The Z15 Pro draws 2,780 watts continuously and the Z15 draws 1,510 watts, which is well beyond what a standard household socket is designed to supply on a sustained basis. Size the circuit with headroom rather than running at its limit, and have an electrician verify the installation if you are not confident about it.
Why is my Zcash miner hashrate lower than expected?
Usually heat, dust, power delivery, or firmware. Check that airflow is unobstructed with cool air in and hot air out and nothing recirculating, clean any dust from filters and boards, confirm the power supply is delivering its rated output, and check the firmware version. Also give pool-side figures fifteen to thirty minutes to settle, since they are averaged and read low initially.
What are stale shares and why do they matter?
Stale shares are solutions your machine submitted too late for the pool to credit, usually because of network latency between you and the pool server. They represent work you paid electricity for and earned nothing from, so a high stale rate is a direct revenue loss. The fix is normally switching to a pool server in a closer region and stabilising your network connection.
Can an Antminer Z15 mine coins other than Zcash?
Yes. The Z15 and Z15 Pro run the Equihash algorithm, so they can mine other Equihash coins including Horizen (ZEN), Komodo (KMD), and Pirate Chain (ARRR). Switching is a matter of pointing the machine at a different pool. That flexibility is useful when Zcash difficulty rises or another Equihash coin temporarily pays better on the same hardware.
Sources and notes
Hardware specifications from Bitmain product documentation. Address format behaviour and protocol details from Zcash protocol documentation and Electric Coin Company guidance. Pool fee ranges, payout thresholds, and stratum conventions vary by operator; always follow your chosen pool's own connection documentation. Product photographs from the MillionMiner catalog. Hero image: Gastev, CC BY 2.0; facility photo: Marco Krohn, CC BY-SA 4.0, both via Wikimedia Commons. Diagrams: original MillionMiner graphics. Informational content, not financial advice.
Why is my Zcash miner hashrate lower than expected?
Usually heat, dust, power delivery, or firmware. Check that airflow is unobstructed with cool air in and hot air out and nothing recirculating, clean any dust from filters and boards, confirm the power supply is delivering its rated output, and check the firmware version. Also give pool-side figures fifteen to thirty minutes to settle, since they are averaged and read low initially.
What are stale shares and why do they matter?
Stale shares are solutions your machine submitted too late for the pool to credit, usually because of network latency between you and the pool server. They represent work you paid electricity for and earned nothing from, so a high stale rate is a direct revenue loss. The fix is normally switching to a pool server in a closer region and stabilising your network connection.
Can an Antminer Z15 mine coins other than Zcash?
Yes. The Z15 and Z15 Pro run the Equihash algorithm, so they can mine other Equihash coins including Horizen (ZEN), Komodo (KMD), and Pirate Chain (ARRR). Switching is a matter of pointing the machine at a different pool. That flexibility is useful when Zcash difficulty rises or another Equihash coin temporarily pays better on the same hardware.
Sources and notes
Hardware specifications from Bitmain product documentation. Address format behaviour and protocol details from Zcash protocol documentation and Electric Coin Company guidance. Pool fee ranges, payout thresholds, and stratum conventions vary by operator; always follow your chosen pool's own connection documentation. Product photographs from the MillionMiner catalog. Hero image: Gastev, CC BY 2.0; facility photo: Marco Krohn, CC BY-SA 4.0, both via Wikimedia Commons. Diagrams: original MillionMiner graphics. Informational content, not financial advice.
