Shen Yu Recalls Zcash Launch Night and Loss of Mining Infrastructure

The co-founder and CEO of Cobo, Shen Yu, recently shared a historical anecdote regarding the 2016 mainnet launch of the privacy-centric cryptocurrency Zcash (ZEC). His recollections highlight the extreme volatility and physical risks associated with early-stage industrial crypto mining. The executive revealed that a series of unfortunate events, including a natural disaster at his mining facility, led to a permanent cessation of his personal involvement with the asset.

The 2016 ZEC Launch and Unprecedented Price Caps

When the Zcash mainnet officially went live in late 2016, the market anticipation was unprecedented. Shen Yu noted that during this period, the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX established a price ceiling of 10 BTC for ZEC, which at the time represented a staggering valuation. To this day, that figure remains the historical high for the asset, as the initial supply was extremely scarce due to the "slow start" mining mechanism.

Lightning Strike Disrupts Mining Operations

The high stakes of the launch were met with physical catastrophe for Shen Yu’s operations. Shortly after the mining process commenced on the inaugural night, a transformer at his GPU mining farm was struck by lightning. This event effectively halted his participation in the Zcash ecosystem at a critical juncture.

• The incident occurred precisely on the night of the ZEC mainnet launch.
• The hardware involved consisted of GPU-based mining rigs, which were the standard for Zcash mining before the advent of ASICs.
• The sudden loss of infrastructure during a peak profit window left a lasting impression on the entrepreneur.

"The transformer at the GPU mining farm was struck by lightning shortly after mining began on the launch night, and ZEC has not appeared in my personal wallet since."

Conclusion

The technical and physical vulnerabilities of mining infrastructure continue to be a point of discussion for industry veterans. For Shen Yu, the combination of the lightning strike and the extreme market conditions of the Zcash launch created what he describes as a "deep shadow" over the project. Since that incident in 2016, the Cobo CEO has maintained a policy of not holding ZEC in his personal portfolio, marking the end of his direct engagement with the privacy coin's ecosystem.