Zcash

Zcash (ZEC) is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that lets users send fully encrypted transactions on a public blockchain. Launched on 28 October 2016 by the team that became the Electric Coin Company, it was the first cryptocurrency to implement zero-knowledge proofs for private peer-to-peer payments — allowing a transaction to be proven valid without revealing the sender, receiver, or amount.

Zcash grew out of academic cryptography research and began as a fork of the Bitcoin codebase. It inherits Bitcoin's monetary design: a fixed maximum supply of 21 million ZEC and periodic halvings of the mining reward. About 16.9 million ZEC are currently in circulation.

How Zcash works

The network currently uses Proof of Work consensus with the Equihash algorithm, producing new blocks roughly every 75 seconds, with transaction fees typically a fraction of a cent. Its defining feature is the choice between two transaction types: transparent transactions, which work like Bitcoin's public transfers, and shielded transactions, which use zero-knowledge proofs to encrypt the details. Modern Zcash uses the trustless Halo proving system within its Orchard shielded pool, removing the "trusted setup" required by earlier versions, and Unified Addresses let a single address work with both transparent and shielded funds.

The project is evolving toward Proof of Stake through a planned upgrade known as "Crosslink," aimed at improving security, scalability, and energy efficiency.

Role in the ecosystem

Zcash is one of the two most prominent privacy coins, alongside Monero, but takes a distinct approach: privacy is optional per transaction rather than mandatory. This makes it suitable for users who want financial confidentiality for everyday payments, savings, or cross-border transfers, while retaining the ability to make transparent, auditable transactions when needed.