ZEC: the coin, the supply, the halving
ZEC is the native coin of Zcash. Here is how it is issued, what the block reward is today, when the next halving lands, and why that timing matters if you mine it.
ZEC is the unit of value on the Zcash network. It is created only through mining and follows a schedule written into the protocol.
Issuance today
Each block carries a subsidy of 1.5625 ZEC. Miners receive 80% of it, 1.25 ZEC, and the development fund receives 20%. With 1,152 blocks a day, miners share about 1,440 ZEC per day across the whole network.
The next halving
Zcash halves the subsidy every 1,680,000 blocks, roughly every four years. The last halving was in November 2024; the next is expected in 2028. After it, the miner reward per block drops to about 0.625 ZEC. Any mining plan that runs past 2028 has to account for that; our planner does it automatically.
Where the price comes from
ZEC trades on most major exchanges against USD, EUR and BTC. Its price drives everything in mining: revenue in euros, the resale value of hardware, and how many new machines plug into the network. We show the live EUR price on every page and use it in every estimate.
Holding vs selling what you mine
Pools like 2Miners and ViaBTC pay you in ZEC; NiceHash pays in BTC. If you believe in the coin, take ZEC. If you want to convert immediately, take BTC. Pool guide.
Put it into numbers
Today's payback for every Z15, with live ZEC price and our hosting rates.
Sources & further reading
Independent references we use ourselves. They open in a new tab.
- Zcash block reward & halving scheduleThe protocol's own explanation of issuance and halvings.
- CoinGecko: ZECLive ZEC price used on this site, with history.
- Blockchair: Zcash explorerNetwork hashrate, difficulty and block data.
- Zcash Improvement ProposalsThe protocol specification, including Equihash parameters.