Zcash: Mining difficulty hits record high as Cypherpunk joins the race

Zcash (ZEC) hovers above $500 on Wednesday amid record-high mining difficulty, with Cypherpunk Technologies (CYPH) launching its Zcash mining fleet. Network difficulty has hit an all-time high of 259.69 million, which aligns with the release of Cypherpunk’s 4.2 GSol/s Zcash mining fleet. Zcash must surpass the declining resistance trendline near $535 for a sustained rally.

Cypherpunk joins the Zcash race

Cypherpunk has launched a large-scale Zcash mining operation, deploying 4.2 GSol/s of Equihash hashrate, using Bitmain Z15 Pro machines. The new fleet now captures 18% of the network's hashrate, emerging as the top ZEC miner. In addition, Cypherpunk’s entry has increased mining activity on the network, pushing the difficulty to a record high of 259.69 million on Wednesday. 

Cypherpunk's ZEC mining follows the recent $33.33 million equity deal with the Winklevoss twins, in which it exchanged 43.29 million shares. The company already holds approximately 323,394 ZEC, accounting for 1.92% of Zcash's circulating supply, and aims to expand its treasury to 5%, with mining expected to produce roughly 7,800 ZEC per month.

Technical outlook: Could Zcash trigger a fresh rally?

Zcash holds above $500 at press time on Wednesday, maintaining a constructive near‑term bullish bias as it remains above the 50‑day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $491 and well over the 200‑day EMA at $421. From a technical perspective, the ZEC price contracts between two converging trendlines, forming a symmetrical triangle pattern on the daily chart.

Momentum remains mostly neutral on the daily timeframe, with the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) slightly above the zero line, hinting at modest positive momentum. At the same time, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) around 53 suggests steady, neutral‑to‑bullish conditions.

On the topside, the declining resistance trendline, with the key break price at $535, forms immediate resistance, followed by the R1 and R2 Pivot levels at $569 and $680, respectively, as overhead bullish targets.

On the downside, the 50‑day EMA at $491 provides the first layer of support, close to the rising trendline, ahead of the more distant structural floor defined by the 200‑day EMA near $421, which underpins the broader bullish trend as long as daily closes stay above it.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)