Equihash 200,9 (Zcash variant)
ASIC DominatedEquihash is a memory-oriented proof-of-work algorithm based on the Generalised Birthday Problem, designed by Alex Biryukov and Dmitry Khovratovich at the University of Luxembourg. It was adopted by Zcash at launch in 2016 with the specific goal of GPU-friendly, ASIC-resistant mining. Despite these intentions, dedicated Equihash ASICs emerged in 2018 and now dominate the ZEC mining landscape.
How Equihash Works
Equihash requires solving an instance of the k-XOR problem over strings of n bits, where Wagner's algorithm provides an efficient solution proportional to available memory. The Zcash variant uses parameters n=200, k=9, requiring roughly 700–900 MB of RAM per solver instance. This large memory footprint was intended to level the playing field between consumer hardware and custom chips. The solution space produces "Equihash solutions" measured in kSol/s (kilo-solutions per second).
History & Evolution
Zcash launched in October 2016 using Equihash. GPU mining dominated from 2016–2018 with Nvidia cards leading performance. Bitmain released the Antminer Z9 in 2018, triggering controversy and a temporary Zcash community discussion about forking to restore GPU mining. No fork occurred; subsequent Bitmain Z11, Z15, and Z15 Pro models further entrenched ASIC dominance. Equihash is also used by Zcash testnets and several smaller forks.
Hardware Requirements
The Equihash ASIC market is small compared to SHA-256. The Antminer Z15 Pro (840 kSol/s, 2,650 W) is the current market leader and the most commonly deployed model. The limited number of Equihash ASICs means secondary-market availability is narrower than SHA-256 hardware.
Compatible Mining Software
Mining Pools for Equihash
The Zcash pool landscape is smaller than Bitcoin's. ViaBTC, F2Pool, and 2Miners are the primary options. Zcash also supports a "Flypool" via f2pool infrastructure. Pool size matters for income consistency — a 1% pool fee difference is negligible compared to variance in block finding frequency on smaller pools.
How to Start Mining with Equihash
- Choose hardware — The Equihash ASIC market is small compared to SHA-256. The Antminer Z15 Pro (840 kSol/s, 2,650 W) is the current market leader and the most commonly deployed model. The limited num.
- Install mining software — compatible options include: lolMiner (ASIC via proxy, GPU legacy), EWBF Miner (GPU, legacy), MiniZ (GPU, legacy), Stock Antminer Z15 firmware.
- Select a pool — The Zcash pool landscape is smaller than Bitcoin's. ViaBTC, F2Pool, and 2Miners are the primary options. Zcash also supports a "Flypool" via f2pool infrastructure. Pool size matters for income consist.
- Configure stratum URL and wallet — set
stratum+tcp://pool-url:portas pool address and your ZEC wallet address as the username/payout address. - Start mining and monitor — check accepted shares in the pool dashboard within 5–10 minutes of startup.
- Track profitability — use our live calculator to monitor earnings vs electricity costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Zcash choose Equihash?
Zcash's founders, Electric Coin Company, chose Equihash specifically for its memory-hardness, which they believed would prevent ASIC dominance and keep mining accessible to GPU miners and thus more decentralised. The algorithm was the best available memory-hard PoW at the time. However, ASIC manufacturers found ways to implement Equihash efficiently by 2018, and ZEC now has a similar ASIC landscape to Bitcoin.
What is the difference between Equihash 200,9 and other Equihash variants?
Equihash is a parametric algorithm — the (n, k) values determine memory requirements and computation time. Zcash uses 200,9, requiring ~700 MB of RAM per solver. BitcoinGold uses Equihash 144,5 (ZHash), requiring less memory but more computation. BitcoinZ uses 192,7. These parameter differences mean Equihash 200,9 ASICs (like the Z15 Pro) cannot mine coins using different Equihash variants — the chips are tuned for specific parameters.
Is Zcash mining profitable in 2026?
At ZEC prices above $30 and electricity below $0.07/kWh, the Antminer Z15 Pro can generate positive daily returns. Zcash's smaller market cap compared to Bitcoin means profitability is more volatile and dependent on ZEC price movements. The post-halving block reward of 1.5625 ZEC (since November 2024) has tightened margins. Use our live Zcash mining calculator for current profitability data.
What makes Equihash memory-hard?
Equihash forces the miner to maintain a large scratch-pad of random data in RAM while searching for valid solutions. The algorithm repeatedly reads from and writes to this memory in an unpredictable pattern, making it expensive to implement without a large, fast memory subsystem. Pure computation circuits (like SHA-256 ASICs) cannot solve Equihash efficiently without adding substantial memory — which increases chip cost and limits parallelism.
Can I GPU-mine Zcash in 2026?
GPU mining Zcash is no longer economically competitive. Equihash ASICs deliver 840 kSol/s versus roughly 1–2 kSol/s for a modern GPU — a 400–800× hashrate disadvantage. GPU ZEC mining costs far more in electricity than it earns. If you own a GPU and want to mine privacy coins, Monero (RandomX) is specifically designed to remain CPU/GPU competitive.