Cypherpunk Launches Major Zcash Mining Operation, Bolstering Treasury Strategy
Cypherpunk Technologies, a privacy-focused firm backed by Winklevoss Capital, has launched what it claims is the world’s largest Zcash mining operation. This move signifies an expansion beyond merely accumulating the privacy coin to actively producing it, further solidifying its strategy to build a substantial treasury around Zcash.
The Nasdaq-listed company announced Monday the debut of Cypherpunk Mining, a venture established through a $33.33 million equity-based agreement with Winklevoss Capital. The deal facilitated the acquisition of the latest-generation Z15 Pro mining machines and their associated hosting agreements.
The U.S.-based mining fleet is now operational, contributing approximately 4.2 GSol/s of Equihash hashrate to the Zcash network. The company estimates this represents roughly 18% of the total network hashrate. The acquisition was financed not with cash, but through a pre-funded warrant for approximately 43.3 million Cypherpunk shares, priced at $0.77 per share.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, co-founders of Winklevoss Capital, stated that this acquisition provides public market investors with a rare avenue to gain exposure to Zcash mining, an opportunity that has historically been difficult to access. Will McEvoy, Chief Investment Officer at Cypherpunk, framed the mining initiative as a crucial next step in the company’s privacy-centric strategy. He explained that the Zcash (ZEC) produced by the mining operation will fund further growth, enable additional coin acquisitions, and support investments in new privacy technologies.
“Zcash hashrate has been concentrated in a small number of miners, pools, and ASIC makers—almost all of it outside the United States,” Cameron Winklevoss posted on X (formerly Twitter) following the announcement. “Cypherpunk is changing that. Our fleet is deployed across U.S. facilities, owned outright, and zero debt and power costs locked in low.”
This mining expansion directly supports Cypherpunk’s treasury ambitions. The company is already the largest corporate holder of ZEC, possessing approximately 323,394 coins, which equates to roughly 1.92% of the circulating supply. The firm’s ultimate goal is to control 5% of the ZEC supply.
With approximately 43,800 ZEC minted for miners each month, Cypherpunk stated that its mining operations will accelerate its treasury accumulation goals, with production costs anticipated to be below the prevailing market price. The company has also bolstered its mining division by bringing on industry veteran Kevin Zhang, formerly of Foundry, as its head of mining.
The launch of Cypherpunk Mining follows a period of significant volatility for the company’s Zcash-focused strategy. The Cypherpunk treasury vehicle, launched with Winklevoss backing, initially benefited from a sharp ZEC rally in late 2025, during which the coin’s value increased even as Bitcoin experienced a decline. Zcash creator Zooko Wilcox joined the initiative towards the end of last year.
However, the venture has not been without its challenges. The company’s stock price experienced a significant decline of nearly 40% at one point, attributed to a Zcash privacy bug. This event underscored the extent to which the firm’s financial performance is closely tied to a single, thinly traded asset. Zcash is currently trading just above $500, representing a roughly 7% increase over the past seven days, but a decline of approximately 28% from its peak near $700 last year.
Cypherpunk acknowledged that its share price is likely to remain highly correlated with ZEC’s performance, a risk that carries potential for both upside and downside.
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