Cypherpunk Acquires $33.33M Zcash (ZEC) Mining Fleet, Securing 18% of Network Hashrate

Zcash News

Cypherpunk Technologies said Aug. 18 that it had acquired a 4.2 GSol/s Zcash (ZEC) mining fleet from entities affiliated with Winklevoss Capital, a $33.33 million transaction that gives the Nasdaq-listed company roughly 18% of the network's hashrate and makes it the largest active Zcash miner. According to the Aug. 18 SEC filing, the buyer was Cypherpunk Mining LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cypherpunk Technologies; the seller was Moria Mining LLC, and Winklevoss Treasury Investments LLC also signed the asset purchase agreement. Under the agreement, Cypherpunk also took on hosting contracts and related rights, assumed liabilities linked to the assets from the Aug. 17 closing date, and excluded liabilities left with the seller. The fleet consists of Bitmain Z15 Pro ASIC mining machines already running at hosting facilities across the United States, which the company describes as the world's largest active Zcash mining fleet. Instead of paying cash, Cypherpunk issued Winklevoss Treasury Investments a pre-funded warrant to purchase 43,290,042 common shares at an exercise price of $0.001 per share, with Cypherpunk stock valued at $0.77 per share for the transaction. A 19.99% beneficial-ownership ceiling applies, and Cypherpunk must receive shareholder approval before issuing more than 5,377,442 shares under the warrant. The company's official announcement says the fleet should produce roughly 7,800 ZEC per month based on its 18% hashrate share, against about 43,800 ZEC distributed to miners across the network each month; actual output will fluctuate with network difficulty and competing computing power. Cypherpunk currently owns 323,394.38 ZEC, equal to about 1.92% of circulating supply, and has stated a target of 5%. The investor-relations disclosure frames mining as a second route to accumulate the privacy-focused altcoin without relying solely on open-market purchases. Cypherpunk began building that position after the former biotechnology company Leap Therapeutics changed its name and business strategy in 2025, using $50 million from a Winklevoss Capital-led private placement to acquire 203,775 ZEC.

Beyond the deal's structure, the new operation changes the economics of Zcash production and concentrates a notable share of a proof-of-work network inside one listed company. The company estimates that one megawatt of current-generation Zcash machines produces about $450 of revenue per megawatt-hour under current market conditions, compared with roughly $223 for AI data-center colocation and $133 for Bitcoin mining. Equipment cost for one megawatt of Zcash mining capacity is put at about $2.4 million, versus $10 million to $12 million for AI infrastructure; the company places the addressable annual Zcash mining market above $250 million at current token prices and says current production costs remain below ZEC's spot price. Cypherpunk has named mining executive Kevin Zhang, who began mining Bitcoin in 2014 and Zcash in 2016 and previously worked at Foundry, to run the fleet. Chief investment officer Will McEvoy said the operation is already generating positive cash flow, that it was entered without debt, and that Cypherpunk plans to add its own data center and power assets over time. Zhang said revenue per megawatt for Zcash mining currently exceeds both AI hosting and Bitcoin mining and that the opportunity resembles Bitcoin mining in 2016. The 18% hashrate share also illustrates concentration risk in a relatively small network: a single corporate operator can account for a large share of the computing power securing Zcash. Cypherpunk says mining will complement its investment in Zcash Open Development Labs and the Zodl wallet. In the seven days before the announcement, ZEC rose 7%, and over the trailing 12 months it gained more than 1,200%, a rally that has still left it well below its all-time high. Investors are now watching the company's securities filings for operating results, warrant-related dilution, and any additional ZEC or mining-hardware purchases, since swings in ZEC's price can quickly affect both the new mining business and the existing digital-asset treasury.

Together, the hashrate acquisition and the growing treasury point to one strategic bet: Zcash mining has become a profitable listed-vehicle business. The official announcement and SEC filing pin down the scope: $33.33 million, 4.2 GSol/s, about 18% of network hashrate, and a warrant covering 43.29 million shares. What is still undisclosed is the cost side. Cypherpunk did not specify hosting fees or power rates, and the filing labels future hashrate, mining income and profitability as forward-looking statements. The deal consolidates a sector that spent much of the last cycle in a bear market. Our reading: the durability of the 7,800-ZEC-per-month estimate, not the headline price tag, will decide whether this reshapes Zcash mining or simply concentrates it further.