09.01.2023
After it became clear in the blockchain sphere that the anonymous cryptocurrency Bitcoin was not anonymous at all, developers around the world began a serious fight for privacy, which continues to this day. Gradually, many cryptocurrencies that focus on anonymity appear, among which is the Zcash cryptocurrency. In this article, we provide an overview of Zcash so that you can decide for yourself whether this cryptocurrency is worth your attention.
What is Zcash (ZEC)?
Zcash (ZEC) is a cryptocurrency that is built on the Bitcoin code and is in the top 3 (Monero, Dash) of the most well-known currencies with high privacy and anonymity. The coin works on the zk-SNARK protocol, which allows transactions to be either shielded, that is, completely protected and anonymous, or transparent — transaction data will be displayed in the Zcash blockchain.
The Zcash cryptocurrency was developed to support the highest privacy, as well as the anonymity of currency transactions, which is also inherent in DeFi (decentralized finance).
Since Zcash was developed from the Bitcoin code, which the development team has improved, transactions on the Zcash network have become much faster and more efficient.
Although Zcash is criticized from many sides, since most consider this cryptocurrency to be a kind of haven for illegal currency transactions, the main task that the Zcash Foundation set for itself was fulfilled — full protection of user privacy for legitimate, not nefarious reasons.
The history of the creation of ZEC
Initially, the idea of creating Zcash (at that time it had a different name — «Zerocash») came to Johns Hopkins University professor Matthew Green and some of his graduate students in 2013. It was planned that Zcash would be a kind of privacy extension for Bitcoin, but the creators of the first crypto did not react to this in any way. Therefore, the developers of Zcash created a coin based on the original Bitcoin code.
The team behind the Zcash protocol founded the Zcash Company, also hired CEO Zuko Wilcox-O'Hearn, and raised over $3,000,000 from venture capitalists.
Emphasizing the importance of Zcash's privacy, Edward Snowden, a former NSA whistleblower, claims to have played a major role in the development of Zcash as one of six people collectively creating the first Zcash public address prior to the network's launch.
Zcash development team launched on October 28, 2016.
Zcash was later renamed Electric Coin Company. Together with the non-profit Zcash Foundation, he manages the Zcash protocol and blockchain.
Features and disadvantages of Zcash cryptocurrency?
It is the zk-SNARK protocol that attracts users and gives them the right to make anonymous and open exchanges. To this end, when you create a wallet, you get 2 keys: a private one and a public one.
That is, all transactions are placed in the accessible chain of blocks and everyone has the opportunity to make sure that the operation is completed, while the data about the sender, recipient and the amount of the transfer remain inaccessible. From which it follows that the transaction remains absolutely confidential and there is no way to trace any information, the zero-knowledge confirmation method provides complete protection and anonymity.
Unfortunately, the main feature is also a big drawback, for example, complete anonymity worries the authorities of most countries, which, no doubt, strive for total control and this can equally lead to sanctions from these states. Also, many blockchain experts, including Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd, believe that in theory, offenders have the ability to create fake zero-knowledge proofs, resulting in fake Zcash tokens. That is, since all transactions on the network use zero-knowledge proofs, users will not be able to distinguish fake coins from real ones, but it is difficult to say whether such an attack is possible.
Zcash Mining Features
Zcash has a limited supply of 21,000,000 coins, so once this amount of ZEC is reached, it will no longer be possible to create a new currency.
Unlike bitcoin, Zcash uses an algorithm called Equihash, which is not compatible with dedicated mining hardware (ASIC) designed for bitcoin mining, and is more suitable for GPU mining.
Other features that make ZEC mining different from BTC mining are that Zcash has a 1.25 minute block time (versus 10 minutes for Bitcoin) and a block reward (at the time of writing this article) of 2.5 ZEC tokens per resolved block.
How to buy Zcash?
To date, anonymous cryptocurrency is represented on almost all specialized trading platforms, such as Binance, Kraken, Kuna, WhiteBIT, FTX, Huobi, Coinbase and others.
Also, the well-known altcoin Zcash can be purchased both for fiat and for other cryptocurrencies using the services of our Buycoin.online exchanger. The Zcash (ZEC) rate against the dollar today is $52.05 with a daily trading volume of $45,012,334. The circulating supply is 15,204,681 ZEC coins and max. offer 21,000,000 ZEC coins.
Is it worth investing in Zcash? Definitely! If you like Bitcoin, then you will like Zcash.
Zcash development prospects and forecast
Cryptocurrency Zcash is quite popular and in demand among users. With Zcash's ability to combine privacy with functionality, ZEC is not losing ground and attracting new supporters.
To make it as convenient as possible to use cryptocurrency in the future, the Zcash (ZEC) community expects to develop solutions in order to improve network performance. First of all, the project team is located to provide the ability to execute an unlimited number of transactions, introduce the Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm, and also create a number of private projects. All these actions will help to have a positive impact on the valuation of the cryptocurrency.
The project is also supported by quite influential investors, including, for example, the Digital Currency Group, the owner of an authoritative media outlet about the field of electronic payments, and many other well-known companies. The choice whether to buy this cryptocurrency in any case remains with you, but our exchanger provides the opportunity to exchange this cryptocurrency for you at any convenient time.
