HOME MINER STATS HOW TO MINE ZEC RESOURCES SUPPORT
ZEROTRACE // HOME MINING GUIDE

MINE ZEC.FROM YOUR HOUSE.

This is the complete path from an unopened ASIC to your first accepted share and first payout. No “buy a miner and join a pool” hand-wave. Every step is here.

START AT STEP 00 ↓ VERIFY THE SOURCES
HOME MINING // REALITY CHECK2026
ALGORITHMEquihash (200,9)
REALISTIC HWEquihash ASIC
REFERENCEAntminer Z15 Pro
HASHRATE840 KSol/s ±3%
POWER2650 W ±10%
INPUT200–240 V AC
NETWORKWired Ethernet

00 // FIRST: THIS IS ASIC MINING.

Zcash still uses Proof of Work with Equihash n=200, k=9. In practice, home ZEC mining today means a purpose-built Equihash ASIC. A gaming GPU can technically perform Equihash work, but it is not a realistic competitor against the ASIC-dominated network. This guide therefore uses the Antminer Z15 Pro as the concrete reference machine, while the setup logic also applies to compatible Equihash ASICs.

SAFETY // READ BEFORE CONTINUING

MINE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

This guide is educational information, not electrical, financial, or professional safety advice. ASIC miners are high-power electrical equipment that produce substantial heat and noise and are intended to run for long periods. Incorrect power, wiring, ventilation, placement, modification, or operation can create a risk of electric shock, fire, equipment damage, overheating, data loss, or financial loss.

Follow the ASIC and power-supply manufacturer's current instructions. Use properly grounded, correctly rated electrical equipment and a code-compliant circuit. Never improvise mains wiring, overload a circuit, use undersized cables or adapters, defeat grounding, obstruct cooling fans, or operate the miner around water or flammable material. If you are unsure whether your electrical service, receptacle, circuit, cable, or ventilation is suitable, stop and have a qualified/licensed electrician or other appropriate professional inspect the installation before powering the miner.

Mining profitability is never guaranteed. Network difficulty, ZEC price, pool rules, electricity rates, hardware failure, taxes, and other costs can change. You are responsible for your equipment, electrical installation, wallet security, pool configuration, local rules, costs, and any consequences of operating the miner.

12 STEPS // NOTHING SKIPPED

FROM BOX TO FIRST PAYOUT.

Open each step in order. Do not buy hardware until you have completed the power, heat and noise checks.

00

KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BUILDING

An ASIC is a 24/7 appliance, not a desktop PC.

CLOSE ↑

Your miner continuously asks a pool for Equihash work, computes solutions, submits shares, and earns a fraction of pool rewards based on the pool's payout method. You do not need to run a full Zcash node to pool-mine.

Z15 PRO REFERENCE840 KSol/s ±3%, 2650 W ±10%, 200–240 V AC input, RJ45 Ethernet, 0–40°C operating range.
OLDER Z15 REFERENCE420 KSol/s, about 1510 W at 25°C, RJ45 Ethernet. Still compatible with Equihash/ZEC, but less efficient.
Do not buy a Bitcoin SHA-256 ASIC or Litecoin Scrypt ASIC. ZEC requires an Equihash-compatible miner.
01

BUY / PREPARE EVERYTHING YOU NEED

The complete home-mining checklist.

EXPLORE ↓
Equihash ASIC miner (example: Antminer Z15 Pro)
Correct manufacturer-approved PSU / integrated PSU
Proper 200–240 V power source for Z15 Pro
Dedicated, code-compliant circuit sized for the miner
Grounded receptacle and correct rated power cable
Ethernet cable to router or non-PoE switch
Laptop/desktop/phone on the same LAN for setup
Exhaust path / ventilation for continuous heat
ZEC wallet or pool-supported payout destination
Mining pool choice and current stratum settings
Do not use cheap plug adapters, undersized extension cords, improvised splitters, or DIY mains wiring. If your location does not already have the required circuit, have a licensed electrician install the correct branch circuit/receptacle for the miner and local electrical code.
02

SOLVE POWER, HEAT AND LOCATION BEFORE YOU PLUG IN

This is the part that makes or breaks home mining.

EXPLORE ↓

POWER

The Z15 Pro manual specifies 200–240 V AC input and roughly 2650 W at the wall. Treat the manufacturer's maximum input/current requirements as the design constraint, not just the average wattage.

LOCATION

  • Use a dry, clean space with a clear intake and exhaust path.
  • Keep intake air cool and do not recirculate the miner's hot exhaust directly back into its intake.
  • Do not block fans or place the miner against fabric, cardboard or flammable clutter.
  • Expect continuous fan noise and substantial heat; a bedroom or quiet office is usually a poor location.
  • BITMAIN specifies reliable grounding and wired networking; its Z15 setup guidance also warns against PoE network connections.

YOUR ELECTRICITY COST // QUICK CHECK

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03

CREATE THE PAYOUT DESTINATION

Know where the ZEC will go before the miner starts.

EXPLORE ↓

Create a Zcash wallet you control, back up the recovery material offline, and verify what address format your chosen pool accepts. Pool requirements differ: some pools use a pool account/worker and let you set payout separately; others use a ZEC address directly as the worker identity.

Privacy path: if the pool requires a transparent payout receiver, receive the payout there and then move the funds into a shielded wallet/address. Do not assume a pool accepts a shielded-only receiver unless the pool explicitly says it does.
Never paste your seed phrase, private key, spending key or wallet backup into a mining pool or ASIC web interface. A pool only needs the payout destination/account information it explicitly requests.
04

CHOOSE A MINING POOL

Pool mining is the practical home route.

EXPLORE ↓

Compare pool fee, payout model (for example PPLNS/PPS+), minimum payout, server region, reputation and whether the pool requires an account. Always copy the current server/port from the pool itself immediately before configuring your ASIC.

2MINERS // ADDRESS-BASED EXAMPLEPublishes ZEC Equihash servers and supports ASICs such as Z15/Z11/Z9. Current USA endpoint is shown as us-zec.2miners.com:1010.
VIABTC // ACCOUNT-BASED EXAMPLEPublishes ZEC endpoints at mining.viabtc.io:3002 and :302; worker format is userID.workerID.
Pool endpoints, fees and payout rules can change. Treat the examples below as configuration examples, then verify the live pool page before saving them in your miner.
05

PHYSICALLY CONNECT THE ASIC

Ethernet first. Power second.

EXPLORE ↓
  1. Place the miner flat with completely unobstructed intake and exhaust.
  2. Connect Ethernet from the miner's ETH/RJ45 port to your router or a normal non-PoE switch.
  3. Confirm the power cable, receptacle, circuit and PSU match the manufacturer requirements.
  4. Apply power. Let the miner boot until its normal/status indicator and fans stabilize.
BITMAIN specifically warns that the AC power supply must be reliably grounded and that power/signal cables should not be connected or disconnected while the unit is energized.
06

FIND THE MINER'S IP ADDRESS

You need the local IP to open the miner dashboard.

EXPLORE ↓

You have two straightforward methods:

  1. Router method: open your router's connected-device / DHCP-client list and look for the newly connected wired device.
  2. BITMAIN IP Reporter: run BITMAIN's IP Reporter tool on a computer on the same network, click Start, then press the miner's IP Report button. BITMAIN's setup guide says the computer and miner must be on the same network.

Once found, enter the miner's local IP address in your browser.

07

LOG IN AND LOCK DOWN THE MINER

Do not leave factory credentials in place.

EXPLORE ↓

BITMAIN's Z15 documentation lists the default web-interface username and password as root / root. Log in locally, then immediately change the administrator password in the miner's Administration/System area.

Keep the miner dashboard on your LAN. Do not expose the ASIC web interface directly to the public internet with router port forwarding.
08

ENTER YOUR POOL SETTINGS

This is the exact moment your ASIC becomes a ZEC miner.

EXPLORE ↓

Open the miner's Miner Configuration / Miner General Configuration page. You will normally see Pool 1, Pool 2 and Pool 3 fields. Use multiple working endpoints so the miner has a fallback if one server is unavailable.

EXAMPLE A // 2MINERS — USA

Pool 1 URL stratum+tcp://us-zec.2miners.com:1010 Worker YOUR_ZEC_ADDRESS.zerotrace01 Password x

2Miners also publishes Europe and Asia ZEC endpoints. Its public instructions show the ZEC wallet address as the worker identity and allow an optional ASIC/rig ID after it.

EXAMPLE B // VIABTC

Pool URL stratum+tcp://mining.viabtc.io:3002 Backup port stratum+tcp://mining.viabtc.io:302 Worker YOUR_VIABTC_USERID.zerotrace01 Password x

ViaBTC uses an account/worker model, so payout destination is managed in the pool account rather than embedded as the worker address.

Do not blindly copy old pool addresses from YouTube, forums or screenshots. Open the pool's current ZEC help page and confirm the hostname, port and worker format first.
09

SAVE, APPLY AND WATCH FOR ACCEPTED SHARES

Hashrate on the miner is not enough; the pool must see you.

EXPLORE ↓
  1. Save/Apply the pool configuration.
  2. Give the ASIC time to restart its mining process.
  3. Open the miner Status page. Confirm hashboards are detected, temperatures are sane, fans are running and hashrate is close to the hardware's expected range after warm-up.
  4. Open the pool dashboard and find your worker.
  5. Confirm accepted shares are increasing. A worker that shows zero accepted shares is not successfully mining for the pool.

BITMAIN notes that pool-side hashrate can take roughly 30 minutes to appear. ViaBTC says workers commonly stabilize on its dashboard after about 10–20 minutes.

10

VERIFY YOUR FIRST PAYOUT

Do not call the setup finished until value actually reaches you.

EXPLORE ↓
  1. Open the pool's Earnings / Payments page.
  2. Confirm your unpaid balance is increasing.
  3. Check the minimum payout and payout schedule.
  4. When the pool sends ZEC, verify the transaction and balance in your own wallet.
  5. If privacy is part of your goal, shield the received ZEC after the payout using a wallet that supports Zcash shielded transactions.
Mining privately and mining ZEC are not the same thing. Pool accounts, IP addresses and transparent payout receivers can create off-chain/on-chain metadata. Shielding the payout protects later transaction details; it does not erase what the pool already knew.
11

RUN IT LIKE A 24/7 MACHINE

Monitoring, maintenance and the common failure checks.

EXPLORE ↓

DAILY / REGULAR CHECKS

  • Pool worker is online and accepted shares continue to rise.
  • Miner hashrate is not materially below normal for the model.
  • No hashboard is missing.
  • Temperatures and fan behavior are stable.
  • Intake/exhaust path is clear and dust is not accumulating excessively.
  • Pool payout address and account security have not changed unexpectedly.

IF THE POOL SHOWS OFFLINE

  1. Check Ethernet link and internet connection.
  2. Confirm pool hostname/port and worker syntax.
  3. Try the pool's backup endpoint/port.
  4. Check DNS/gateway settings if the miner can reach the LAN but not the pool.
  5. Review miner logs for connection, hashboard or temperature errors.
Do not flash random third-party firmware just because a forum post promises higher hashrate. Firmware changes can alter power draw, thermals, reliability and warranty/security assumptions.
12

KNOW YOUR TRUE PROFIT — NOT JUST YOUR ZEC

Revenue is not profit.

EXPLORE ↓

Your real result depends on ZEC earned, ZEC/USD price, network difficulty/hashrate, pool fee and payout model, hardware cost, electricity, cooling/ventilation overhead, downtime and hardware failure. Recalculate regularly; what is profitable today can become unprofitable without the ASIC changing at all.

Use the live Miner Stats on ZeroTrace for network context, but use the pool's own earnings dashboard plus your actual electric rate for your accounting.

OPEN ZEROTRACE MINER STATS →

VERIFY BEFORE YOU PLUG IT IN.

This guide is intentionally concrete, but hardware specifications and pool endpoints can change. These are the primary/current references used to build it.

BITMAIN // ANTMINER Z15 PROManufacturer support, manual and specifications. BITMAIN // Z15 SETUPIP Reporter, login, network and pool configuration flow. ZCASH COMMUNITY // MINING GUIDEEquihash, ASIC reality and mining overview. 2MINERS // CURRENT ZEC HELPLive ZEC stratum endpoints and ASIC worker format. VIABTC // ZEC MININGCurrent ViaBTC endpoints, worker syntax and monitoring. ZCASH PROTOCOL // PROOF OF WORKProtocol-level Equihash parameters n=200, k=9.