Zcash (ZEC) Price, Market Cap and Information

ZCash appeared on the market in the fall of 2016. It stands out among other crypto currencies as the first coin created on the basis of a new zero-knowledge proof protocol also known as zk-SNARK protocol. The uniqueness of this protocol lies in the ability to confirm the reliability of information without disclosing data about the parties to the transaction and its amount (the only information disclosed is the fact of transaction itself). Such an algorithm allows us to talk about the truly absolute anonymity of this payment system.

The development of ZCash (ZEC) involved a whole team of cryptographers from the world's most famous universities; they are still cooperating with the company, and their work is paid by a percentage of the income of the miners. A full-scale software for mining ZEC coins was issued in October 2016. To install it, one needs to have Linux as operating system, and random-access memory of at least 4GB.

 Zcash transactions can either be transparent or shielded through a zero-knowledge proof called zk-SNARKs. This allows the network to maintain a secure ledger of balances without disclosing the parties or amounts involved. Instead of publishing spend-authority and transaction values, the transaction metadata is encrypted and zk-SNARKs are used to prove that nobody is being dishonest.

Shielded Zcash transactions are completely private.

Like Bitcoin, Zcash transaction data is posted to a public blockchain; but unlike Bitcoin, Zcash ensures your personal and transaction data remain completely confidential. Zero-knowledge proofs allow transactions to be verified without revealing the sender, receiver or transaction amount. Selective disclosure features within Zcash allow a user to share some transaction details, for purposes of compliance or audit.

Zcash also allows for transparent transactions, to accommodate for wallets and exchanges that don’t support private transactions.