Common questions from beginners and experienced miners about setting up and running a Zcash mining operation.
You need: (1) an Antminer Z15 Pro ASIC miner, (2) a 240V / 30A electrical circuit, (3) a ZEC wallet (Zashi app), (4) a free pool account (F2Pool or Luxor), and (5) ethernet-connected space with adequate ventilation for the heat output.
Once hardware arrives, miner configuration takes about 30 minutes: connect ethernet, find IP address, log into web interface, enter pool URL and wallet address, save and restart. Your first accepted shares appear in the pool dashboard within 5–10 minutes.
F2Pool is recommended for beginners - PPS+ payouts, 1% fee, excellent documentation. Create a free account at f2pool.com, add a ZEC worker, set stratum URL to stratum+tcp://zec.f2pool.com:3357.
Check the miner's web interface (enter its IP in browser) → Miner Status: all hash boards active, hashrate ~840 KSol/s, fans 4,000–6,000 RPM. Also check your pool dashboard - your worker should show accepted shares within 10 minutes of starting.
F2Pool pays daily with a 0.001 ZEC minimum. A Z15 Pro earns ~0.054 ZEC/day, hitting the minimum in under 2 hours. Expect your first payout within 24 hours of starting to mine.
No. Payouts are sent directly to your ZEC wallet address on the blockchain - you don't need to be online. Check your Zashi or Ywallet balance anytime to see received ZEC.
Mining simply stops until it reconnects. The pool marks your worker offline. Enable email alerts in your pool account to be notified immediately. Most outages are power or internet-related and resolve quickly.
The Z15 Pro is purpose-built for Equihash 200/9. Other coins using this algorithm - such as ZEN (Horizen) - can also be mined. You cannot mine Bitcoin, Ethereum, or most other major coins with this hardware.
In most jurisdictions, mined cryptocurrency is taxable income at fair market value at time of receipt. Consult a tax professional for guidance specific to your country. Keep records of daily ZEC earnings and the ZEC price at time of receipt.
The current block reward is 3.125 ZEC per block after the November 2024 halving. Blocks are found every ~75 seconds (~1,152/day), issuing ~3,600 ZEC daily across the entire network. The next halving is expected ~2028.