Initially proposed in a publication entitled "Zerocash" in 2014, Zcash is a decentralized public peer-to-peer cryptocurrency launched in 2016 that offers features similar to Bitcoin with a twist of unique privacy and security features found only in a handful of public digital currencies.
More specifically, ZEC was the first cryptocurrency to leverage 'zk-SNARKS', a zero-knowledge protocol that was considered among the top 10 breakthrough technologies of 2018 according to MIT's Technology Review.
Key Zcash features:
- Launched in October of 2016
- Proof-of-work cryptocurrency
- Privacy features enabled by zero-knowledge proofs
- Users can choose to send public or private transactions
Zcash is a cryptocurrency that's primarily known for its privacy-enhancing features. Users can choose to preserve their privacy by sending shielded transactions. With shielded transactions, crucial information such as the addresses involved in the transaction and the amount sent is not visible to the public.
Alternatively, users can send unshielded transactions, which are completely transparent and function in a way that's very similar to Bitcoin.
Zcash features two types of addresses - z-addresses (private) and t-addresses (transparent). These addresses can be easily identified by their first character. While ZEC transactions can be send between z-addresses and t-addresses, users have to be mindful of the privacy implications of such transfers.
Aside from its innovative privacy features, ZEC is a pretty straightforward crypto asset that's primarily designed for peer-to-peer value transfers. For this purpose, it provides many of the same benefits as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and other similar cryptocurrencies - the network operates 24/7, and money can be sent globally in a completely trustless manner.
New ZEC coins are introduced into the circulating supply through mining - Zcash is a cryptocurrency based on proof-of-work. Tokenomics-wise, ZCash has kept the same 21 million total supply cap introduced by Bitcoin. Similarly to Bitcoin, Zcash also has a halving mechanism. The first Zcash halving will happen at block height 1,046,400, which is expected to be reached in November of 2020.