Zcash

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This article is about the cryptocurrency Zcash. It is not to be confused with Zerocoin or zcache.

Zcash
Zcash logo
Demographics
Date of introduction	28 October 2016; 12 months ago
User(s)	Worldwide

Zcash is a cryptocurrency that grew out of the Zerocoin project, aimed at improving anonymity for Bitcoin users. The Zerocoin protocol was initially improved and transformed into Zerocash, which thus yielded the Zcash cryptocurrency in 2016.^[1] The founder and CEO of Zcash is Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn. Its founding team includes cryptographer Matthew D. Green from Johns Hopkins University. Roger Verwas one of Zcash's initial investors.^[1]

Zcash payments are published on a public blockchain, but users are able to use an optional privacy feature to conceal the sender, recipient, and amount being transacted.^[1] Like Bitcoin, Zcash has a fixed total supply of 21 million units.^[2] In the first 4 years, 20 % of the coins are transferred to a "founders reward", via a multisignature wallet.^[3]

Zcash affords private transactors the option of "selective disclosure", allowing a user to prove payment for auditing purposes. One such reason is to allow private transactors the choice to comply with anti-money laundering or tax regulations. "Transactions are auditable but disclosure is under the participant's control."^[4] Wilcox has hosted virtual meetings with law enforcement agencies around the U.S. to explain these fundamentals and has gone on the record of saying that "they did not develop the currency to facilitate illegal activity".^[2]

On April 4, 2017, Zcash entered the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap.^[5]

See also[edit]

• Legality of bitcoin by country
• zk-SNARKs

References[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to:^a b c Jon Southurst (2016-06-07). "Snowden: Anonymous 'Zcash' Could Solve Bitcoin Surveillance Risks". Bitcoin News. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
2. ^ Jump up to:^a b Popper, Nathaniel (2016-10-31). "Zcash, a Harder-to-Trace Virtual Currency, Generates Price Frenzy". The New York Times.
3. Jump up^ Peter Todd (2016-11-14). "Cypherpunk Desert Bus: My Role In The 2016 Zcash Trusted Setup Ceremony".
4. Jump up^ Clozel, Lalita (October 31, 2016). "How Zcash Tries to Balance Privacy, Transparency in Blockchain". American Banker.
5. Jump up^ Bovaird, Charles (4 April 2017). "Zcash Enters Top 10 Cryptocurrencies By Market Cap - CoinDesk". CoinDesk.