Introduction
Zcash, originally founded as Zerocoin, is a popular privacy coin that was launched in 2016 and was developed as an extension of Bitcoin to focus on anonymity guarantees. Zcash has the second highest market capitalization of all privacy coins fluctuating around 2 billion USD.
Key Features
- zk-SNARKs
- Shielded or transparent addresses
- Viewing Keys
- Multisignature transactions
Wallets and Exchanges
- 4 exchanges worldwide that support Zcash’s shielded transaction feature
- The Zcash Foundation does not officially endorse any specific digital wallets
- endorse full-node wallets named Zcashd and Zecwallet for advanced users
Comparison to Bitcoin
- Zcash has optional privacy features while Bitcoin does not
- Miners earn 100% of rewards on Bitcoin’s blockchain, while miners earn 80% of rewards on Zcash’s blockchain
- Remaining 20% is split between the Major Grants Fund (8%), Electric Coin Company (ECC), and the Zcash Foundation (5%) to support developmental projects
Future Plans
- Network Upgrade 5 (NU5)
- Zk-SNARK technology improvement
- Halo proving system
- New version of Zcashd wallet
