Frequently Asked Questions

The network solrate is an estimate of the total computational power securing the Zcash network. Because Zcash uses the Equihash algorithm, it's measured in Solutions per second (Sol/s) rather than "hashes per second." You'll see this abbreviated as KSol/s, MSol/s, GSol/s, or TSol/s on the explorer. The terms "solrate" and "hashrate" are used interchangeably in the mining community, but solrate is the technically correct term for Zcash.

It can't be measured directly. Instead, it's inferred from block difficulty using the formula difficulty × 8192 / 75. Higher solrate means more mining power is protecting the network. For a full explanation of how this works, see the How Solrate Is Estimated guide.

There's no way to directly count every miner on the network. Miners connect and disconnect freely without registering anywhere. Instead, we infer solrate from difficulty, a value the network adjusts to keep blocks arriving at the target 75-second pace.

This means the solrate you see is a statistical inference, not a direct measurement. It's very accurate over longer time periods, but can fluctuate in the short term because individual block times naturally vary. The learn guide covers the math in detail.

This explorer estimates a pool's solrate from the blocks it has mined: specifically, the pool's share of recent blocks multiplied by the estimated network solrate. A pool's own dashboard measures solrate from the shares submitted by its miners, which is a more direct (but private) measurement.

Over short periods, luck causes variance: a pool might find more or fewer blocks than expected. A pool with 30% of the network solrate won't always mine exactly 30% of blocks in every window. Over longer periods (days to weeks), the two numbers converge. For more detail, see the per-pool solrate section of the learn guide.

Difficulty is a measure of how hard it is to find a valid block hash. The Zcash network automatically adjusts difficulty to maintain the target 75-second block time. If miners are finding blocks too quickly, difficulty increases; if too slowly, it decreases. The Pools page shows a historical difficulty chart alongside solrate, and each block's individual difficulty is displayed on its detail page.

Zcash targets a 75-second block time since the Blossom upgrade (December 2019, block 653,600). Before Blossom, the target was 150 seconds. This means a new block is expected roughly every 1 minute and 15 seconds, resulting in approximately 1,152 blocks per day. The "Avg Block Time" on the Dashboard shows the actual average computed from recent blocks, which will fluctuate around the 75-second target.

The mempool (short for "memory pool") is a holding area for unconfirmed transactions waiting to be included in a block. When you send a ZEC transaction, it first enters the mempool. Miners select transactions from the mempool to include in the next block, typically prioritizing those with higher fees.

The Pools page displays live mempool statistics: the current number of pending transactions, total size in bytes, total pending fees, and average fee per transaction. The pending transactions table shows individual unconfirmed transactions sorted by fee. This data updates in real-time via WebSocket when available.

The coinbase transaction is the first transaction in every block. It creates new ZEC out of thin air as the block reward. This is how new coins enter circulation. Unlike regular transactions, a coinbase transaction has no inputs (no previously existing coins being spent).

On block detail pages, you can see the coinbase transaction's details including the coinbase text (arbitrary data embedded by the miner, often containing the pool name or software version), the payout address, and the full breakdown of outputs including the miner reward, ZCG allocation, and lockbox funds.

The coinbase text (also called the "coinbase scriptsig" or "coinbase data") is a small field in the coinbase transaction where the miner can embed arbitrary data. Mining pools typically use this to include their pool name, a worker identifier, or the block height. On block detail pages, this explorer decodes the raw hex coinbase data and displays the human-readable text. This is also how the explorer identifies which pool mined a block by matching known coinbase tags.

Each Zcash block reward is split among several recipients, visible in the reward breakdown bar on block detail pages:

• Miner Subsidy: The majority of the block reward, paid to the miner (or pool) that found the block.
• Transaction Fees: Fees paid by users for their transactions in the block. These go to the miner on top of the subsidy.
• Zcash Community Grants (ZCG): A portion of the block subsidy directed to community-driven development grants.
• Coinholder-Controlled Fund (CCF): A portion locked in an on-chain lockbox, held for future governance decisions by ZEC holders.

The exact percentages and amounts depend on the current halving era and the development fund rules active at that block height.

Each transaction on the explorer is labeled with a type badge indicating its privacy characteristics:

• Coinbase: The special first transaction in each block that creates new ZEC as the mining reward.
• Transparent: All inputs and outputs are public, publicly visible on the blockchain.
• Shielded: The transaction has both shielded inputs and shielded outputs (Sapling pool) where amounts and addresses are encrypted.
• Orchard: The transaction uses the Orchard shielded pool (NU5+) with Halo 2 proofs, the newest and most advanced privacy technology.
• Mixed: The transaction has a combination of transparent and shielded components, for example, shielding (moving from transparent to shielded) or deshielding (the reverse).