What is Zcash?
In this Zcash coin review I will go over in depth regarding the cryptocurrency itself as well as the network and what it offers. So, what is Zcash? It is maybe the most popular blockchain network and coin that focuses mainly on the privacy and security aspects. Being built on the original Bitcoin base structure, this cryptocurrency handles one of the main issues with cryptos in general and offers its users the ability to keep their anonymity while selectively complying to auditing and regulations. The maximum supply for is 21,000,000 ZEC coins.
Advantages
As I mentioned earlier, the main feature that Zcash brings to the table is anonymity. This is achieved thanks to the Zero-Disclosure protocol that does not need to decrypt information in order to confirm a transaction. Some of the other advantages of the coin are:
- Superior encryption second only to DASH
- Frequent updates and dedicated development team
Disadvantages
Of course, even Zcash has its downsides. One of the main ones is that due to its privacy aspects, not many wallets can support it. Thus, currently there are no mobile wallets that can offer privacy cryptocurrency support. Here are some of the other disadvantages:
- Needs more security updates – this is due to most of the transactions being done transarrently as the privacy aspect is not by default, it is chosen
History and Evolution
Back in 2013 at the point of its inception, Zcash was known under the project name Zerocoin. Matthew Green, Ian Miers along with many more who were at the Computer Science department of Johns Hopkins Univercity, are the team behind the Zero protocol and later on Zerocash protocol, which was an updated version allowing users to trade anonymously. Zooko Wilcox is the founder of the Zcash network and coin, but it isn’t known when he started collaborating with the team behind the protocol. Zooko along with his team of developers, which are Brad Miller, Kevin Gorham and Ryan Taylor, saw the potential of the ability to trade privately and wanted to bring it out to the public in the form of a decentralized cryptocurrency.
The team is currently in the stage of fully releasing their newest update to the network called Sapling. This update will bring more efficiency upgrades for shielded addresses (private addresess) and also lay the foundation work for mobile support.
Zcash’s Future
The years 2018 and 2019 are looking to be quite decisive for the whole network. According to the track record and future plans, the team are preparing Zcash to be the top private coin and network in the world. The community is ecstatic and are fully supporting them. Feel free to check out their roadmap and current stage at the official website here.
Zcash Blockchain
As mentioned earlier, Zcash is a peer-to-peer decentralized network that focuses on security and privacy of their transactions. Their current consensus protocol is Proof of Work and the hashing function is Equihash. This makes the network quite resistant to ASIC miners, but with time the ASIC developers found a way to create a superior machine. The current block reward is 12.5ZEC and every 4 years, or 840,000 blocks, the reward will be halved. The first halving is expected to be initiated in late 2020. The block time is relatively quick at roughly 150 seconds, while the block size is approximately 11.364 KB.
Zcash Nodes
Nodes are the pillars of every blockchain network. They are referencing points for all users as well as providing stability and security to the whole system. There are 2 types of nodes in the Zcash network – light and full nodes.
- Full nodes, or also called Fully Validating Nodes, are the main reference points for everyone and are the most important. They would require you to download the full transactional history of the blockchain and they act as a validator of transactions and blocks on the network.
- Light nodes, or light SVP clients, are the most common ones as mostly all users and wallets are operating as one. They need only a small part of the recent history of the blockchain to be downloaded in order to operate.
Forks or Tokens Based on ZCash
Because of its popularity, the Zcash cryptocurrency is the base for several other privacy-oriented coins from hard forks. It also had a few Soft Forks that brought substantial changes and updates to the network.
Hard forks
- Zclassic – forked at block number 272,991 on 28th February 2018
- Komodo – unfortunately there is currently no info I could find regarding the inception of this coin
Soft forks
- Overwinter – Activated at block 347500, 26th June 2018. It contains updates to the whole network to lay the foundation for future upgrades as well as increase in performance for transparent transactions
- Sapling – Activated at block 419200, 29th October 2018. Significant improvements for shielded transactions as well as foundation work for mobile support
How to get Zcash
At the moment of writing this article, there are two ways you can obtain ZEC coins – buying from exchanges or mining with hardware, also called mining rigs.
Where to buy Zcash
Of course, for convenience everyone would like to buy Zcash coins with real life (fiat) money. Currently there are many exchanges that offers the pair ZEC to fiat and one of them is Bithumb. Zcash is the leading privacy coin at the moment and a truly dedicated and active developer team that is strongly supported by the community. Thus, everyday users and investors around the world are taking notice. Now is a great time to pe a part of the network and mine/trade ZEC crypto coins.
| Exchange | Cryptocurrencies | Fiat Money | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Binance
|
Bitcoin, Ethereum + 50 more | – | Trade now |
|
Kraken
|
Bitcoin, Ethereum + 25 more | USD, EUR, JPY | Trade now |
|
Exmo
|
Bitcoin, Tether + 15 more | USD, EUR, RUB | Trade now |
How to mine Zcash
As I explained in a previous paragraph, Zcash coins are mineable with hardware. This hardware consists of a computer with at least 6 GPUs (Graphics processing unit) connected together or with Application Specific Integrated Circuit machines (ASICs). Currently ASICs are the best option for mining. You can find a short list of the best ASIC miners in the table below.
Wallets for Zcash
All right, maybe you want to mine of trade ZEC coin and be a part of the network. To be able to do that, you will need a wallet to hold the coins in. Wallets are software programs that hold two keys – private and public one. The private key is used to access your funds and the public key is for receiving coins. Currently there is no official Zcash wallet that is endorsed by the development team, but there are other alternative wallets that you can use to hold ZEC cryptocurrency. You must also never forget to back up your wallets as that will add another layer of security.
Alternative wallets
What are alternative wallets? They are made by third parties like companies that specialize in their development. Alternative wallets vary in their function so that almost any user can find something they like in them. The features can be anything from a different user interface to multi-coin support, giving them the ability to hold more than one type of coin.
Zcash Network Security
Being a privacy coin, it is no surprise that there are no major security issues for Zcash. This does not stop the development team to improve on it though. If you would like to stay in touch with all security updates and announcements, you can visit their official page here.
News and Useful Links
There are also many ways you can follow the development team or the network itself and be notified of every change or news regarding the network. The best places you can start with are their official web page, their roadmap and their official twitter @zcashco.