What is ZCash?

ZCash (ZEC) is a cryptocurrency that primarily focuses on private transactions in an open blockchain. Originally a fork of Bitcoin, ZCash originated in 2016 with the goal to prioritize anonymity and offer selectively transparent transactions. ZCash encrypts these transactions with a zero-knowledge proof construction called zk-SNARK. This system is used to ensure complete security and anonymity of both parties of the transaction.

Table of Contents

1. The History of Zcash
2. The Technical Specifications of Zcash
3. The Price of Zcash
4. Unique Aspects of Zcash
5. Why Use Zcash?
6. Resources of Zcash

The History of ZCash

Zcash is a decentralized and open-source cryptocurrency that offers privacy and selective transparency of transactions. Zcash payments are published on a public blockchain, but the sender, recipient, and the amount of a transaction remain private. The cryptocurrency was first created from the Bitcoin core code, but it is not a chain fork.

The First Zcash Coins

The first Zcash coins were released to the market on October 28, 2016. The project Zcash started because Bitcoin and other coins were not able to promise the full privacy which was first talked of in Satoshi’s whitepaper. The origins of Zcash and the idea behind the project can be traced way back to 2013. A project known as Zerocoin was created to address the privacy problem of Bitcoin. The project was designed to be an addition to Bitcoin, but with the new advancement, it became a cryptocurrency of its own known as Zerocash. The coin itself is developed by the Zcash Company who later designed the ZEC protocol. It is important to clarify that this company does not control Zcash. They only help contribute to the coin’s decentralization and protect it against failure and corruption. The Zcash team is very diverse as it is made up of scientists, cryptographers, activists and educators.

Zerocash to Zcash Transition

The transition of Zerocash to Zcash started building up when the Zerocash team began collaborating with external developers. Eventually, Zcash was launched on October 28, 2016, by a company known as Zerocoin Electric Coin Company. The company does not claim to control the cryptocurrency; instead, all users are viewed as contributors to the decentralization of the network.

The Zcash Foundation

In March 2017, the Zcash Foundation was created to help guide the evolution of Zcash. This non-profit organization is dedicated to building internet payment and privacy infrastructure for the public. Since its launch in 2016, Zcash has quickly grown to be one of the most popular private coins and has even reached the top 25 coins measured in market capitalization. The strongest competitor of Zcash is Monero. Although both coins are different in their own ways, they belong to the same classification as privacy coins.

The zk-SNARK Protocol

The zk-SNARK protocol was developed back in 2014 by scientists at reputable facilities that include Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, and Tel Aviv University. The zk-SNARK protocol allows users to send cryptocurrency the same way as Bitcoin, while maintaining a higher level of privacy and security. This protocol allows the network to develop and maintain a secure ledger of balances that doesn’t in any way disclose the parties that participate in the transaction.

Specifications of Zcash

The Price of Zcash

Unique Aspects of Zcash

The mission of the Zcash foundation is to ensure security and privacy by bringing extra security layers to the world of cryptocurrencies. The founders of Zcash recognized the lack of privacy in cryptocurrency blockchains. For example, on the Bitcoin network all transactions and addresses are public. The lack of privacy on the blockchain means that users can see the exact amount of Bitcoin someone is holding, or how many transactions they have made, including the amount of Bitcoin sent in each transaction. Zcash hopes to solve this problem with its encryption algorithm zk-SNARK. zk-SNARK makes it possible for people to send Zcash without giving away their identity to other people on the network. That way people can keep their transactions private at all times.

Why Use Zcash?

Zcash can be used at multiple services on the internet. Various companies have already implemented Zcash as a payment option on their website. Zcash can also be used as a storage of value or for sending value to other people all over the world.

Value Privacy and Security

The main reason why Zcash is used is the fact that it is a very private and secure coin. If you don’t want everyone to be able to see all your transactions, then Zcash is a great option for you. Besides ensuring full privacy and security, Zcash can also be used to send coins to the other side of the world in a few seconds.

Resources of Zcash