زی‌کش ZEC / Zcash

What Is Zcash (ZEC)?

Zcash is a decentralized cryptocurrency focused on privacy and anonymity. It uses the zk-SNARK zero-knowledge proof technology that allows nodes on the network to verify transactions without revealing any sensitive information about those transactions.

Contrary to a common misunderstanding, the majority of cryptocurrencies on the market, including Bitcoin (BTC), are not anonymous, but rather pseudonymous; while they do not explicitly reveal the identities of their users, each user has their own public address or addresses which can be traced back to them via the methods of data science and blockchain forensics.

Zcash transactions, on the other hand, still have to be relayed via a public blockchain, but unlike pseudonymous cryptocurrencies, ZEC transactions by default do not reveal the sending and receiving addresses or the amount being sent. There is an option, however, to reveal this data for the purposes of auditing or regulatory compliance.

Zcash was first released on October 28, 2016, and it was originally based on Bitcoin’s codebase.

Who Are the Founders of Zcash?

Zcash was founded in 2016 by cypherpunk, computer security expert and entrepreneur Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn. He is also the founder of the for-profit Electronic Coin Company (ECC), which manages the development of Zcash.

Wilcox-O’Hearn has spent more than 25 years in the industry of cryptography and information security and has contributed to a number of projects, including the now-defunct electronic money firm DigiCash, peer-to-peer data storing software Mojo Nation and the Tahoe Least-Authority File Store filesystem.

He also founded Least Authority Enterprises, a technology company focused on improving digital security and preserving the fundamental right to privacy, and co-invented the BLAKE3 cryptographic hash function.

What Makes Zcash Unique?

Zcash’s main advantage lies in its optional anonymity, which allows for a level of privacy unattainable with regular, pseudonymous cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum.

ZEC transactions can be sent in two ways: transparent and shielded. Transparent transactions work in about the same way as in Bitcoin, whose codebase Zcash was originally based on: they are sent between public addresses and are recorded on an immutable public ledger (the blockchain). All essential information about these transactions is available online for anyone to see, including the sending and receiving addresses and the amount sent.