Cryptocurrency Zcash (ZEC): description, price, rate, chart, characteristics, forecast and prospects, list of exchanges

Zcash is the first open and censorship-free cryptocurrency that can fully protect transaction privacy using zero-knowledge cryptography. The developer of this system is Zerocoin Electric Coin Company (ZECC).

Bitcoin is an open cryptocurrency, also free from censorship, and there is a common misconception that Bitcoin transactions are anonymous. In fact, the history of each transaction is displayed in a public ledger - the blockchain. Specialized software can identify the persons who make transactions. In this regard, a number of cryptocurrencies have emerged that have implemented privacy functions. This material will help those who have not yet dealt with Zcash understand how it differs from other cryptocurrencies.

All transfers in Zcash are freely published on the public blockchain, but the sender, the specific amount and the recipient of the transfer remain strictly confidential. It is noteworthy that, just like the world-famous Bitcoin, this cryptocurrency has a limit on the number of coins of 21 million units, which avoids the danger of inflation and a fall in the prices of this digital money.

Characteristics

Indicators of the Zcash cryptocurrency as of April 9, 2019:

ZEC/USD online chart

What is USD Coin (USDC) and what goals does the project pursue?

The USD Coin cryptocurrency is a joint project between Circle (Circle Internet Financial) and the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange. The development was carried out by their joint organization Center Consortium.

USDC is a stablecoin created on the Ethereum blockchain according to the ERC-20 standard. In fact, the coin is a tokenized US dollar as it is completely tied to its value.

The main goal of the project is to create a token that will protect traders and investors from loss of assets. This is achieved precisely by pegging it to the dollar. While most coins are subject to volatility, the USD Coin cryptocurrency has a constant exchange rate of 1 USDC = $1.

Zcash (ZEC) Cryptocurrency Review

Zcash is a digital currency, just like Bitcoin (moreover, it was built on the basis of the original Bitcoin code). However, the protocol includes many improvements, primarily regarding confidentiality and anonymity. Zcash can be used to purchase goods and services or exchange it for other fiat/crypto currencies.

ZEC goes beyond other cryptocurrencies in some ways.

The main difference between most digital coins and traditional money is that each transaction is tracked and managed by a decentralized public blockchain, rather than by a bank or other centralized institution. On the one hand, it proves that you really are the owner of your money. On the other hand, almost all cryptocurrencies expose the entire history of your transactions to the public.

In Zcash, the user chooses what information to share and what not to share. Addresses and associated balances are not visible to all users. Payment disclosure and special keys can be used to exchange information about transactions with third parties or for auditing.

In which countries are transactions with Zcash allowed?

The difficult path that Muslim countries and other states that create barriers and restrictions may have to go through in the future has already been successfully passed by many jurisdictions. In some states, financial authorities decided not to unnecessarily complicate the situation and, instead of prohibitions, developed effective regulatory mechanisms.

As a result, people and businesses from countries that have abandoned the practice of introducing bans have the opportunity to use a wider range of instruments to carry out payment and other financial transactions. Freedom of choice allows entrepreneurs and citizens to achieve better financial results, which directly affects the volume of tax contributions to the state budget.

The use of cryptocurrencies, including Zcash, has been successfully legalized by the governments and financial regulators of the following countries: USA (SEC and CFTC), Germany (BaFin), Israel (ISA), Estonia (EFSA), Hong Kong (SFC), Switzerland (FINMA), Belize (IFSC), Malta (FSC Mauritius), Spain (CNMV), Singapore (MAS), Australia (ASIC), New Zealand (FSCL), Mauritius (FSC), Canada (IIROC), Botswana (Botswana IFSC), South Africa (FSB ) and a number of other states.

The regulatory mechanisms established in these jurisdictions provide for the mandatory receipt of a license from an authorized government body. In addition, the measures taken by regulators have reduced the potential risk to a minimum, which is generally considered acceptable practice.

More detailed information about the specifics of virtual assets, as well as expert assessments on the prospects for the development of this segment of the global market, can be found in the Masterforex-V wiki review publication on cryptocurrencies.

Description of the project, history of creation

The Zikesh cryptocurrency was launched and supported by Electric Coin since 2016. The main goal is to give everyone economic freedom and unlimited opportunities. Every person has the right to privacy, but at the same time, the transition to using cryptocurrencies as censorship-resistant money is logical. Therefore, it was decided to combine these two points.

Electric Coin is a team of scientists and engineers who developed the ZEC protocol based on scientific principles. The company does not control the currency, its production or distribution. Each network user contributes to increased decentralization, which makes the system more resilient to failures. Electric Coin team members stand on par with the rest of the network.

In addition, in March 2022, The Zcash Foundation was founded - a non-profit organization that is not legally associated with Electric Coin. The purpose of the fund is to help keep the right direction in the evolution of Zcash. The organization creates an infrastructure for online payments, works to maintain confidentiality, and serves users.

Features of cryptocurrency, technical implementation

Key characteristics of the Zcash cryptocurrency:

• Benefit and effectiveness. Zikesh can be used as a cheap and secure means of sending money or purchasing goods/services. The coin is supported by all top crypto exchanges, wallets and exchangers.
• Regulation and audit. Private transactions and addresses can be disclosed by the user at will if required by law or if necessary to conduct an audit.
• Decentralization, resistance to hacker attacks. Zcash is supported by a vast network of hardware and people, rather than a single centralized company. There is no central server that can be hacked, no points of failure, no regulatory body that can shut down the project.
• Private transactions and addresses. Privacy isn't just baked into Zcash; it's built into the core of its protocol. This allows users to send and receive coins without revealing the sender, recipient, or transaction volume.

Why is privacy so important? Of course, this is an essential condition for freedom on the Internet. When transaction history is publicly available, the risk of tracking is high and it becomes more difficult for an individual to make their own decisions. In other cryptocurrency networks, an attacker can match a person with a wallet balance, information about the parties involved, and amounts. In Zcash, everyone decides what information to share.

Cranes

Cryptocurrency mining requires equipment and expensive video cards, and speculation on the stock exchange requires capital, so getting to know ZEC often starts with faucets. Zcash faucet (faucet) is an easy way to get cryptocurrency by watching ads and performing other simple tasks. In 2016, sites for earning coins were massively banned by Google, since according to the search engine’s standards they were considered traffic boosting services. Zcash faucets did not exist at the dawn of this cryptocurrency. They began to appear only in 2022, and in 2022 the network of sites grew and difficulties arose in choosing a project to make money. List of verified faucets that pay:

• Сointalk.club – instant withdrawal to faucethub. The reward amount is 1150 zatoshi (0.001 USD). There is no time limit here - it is enough to solve 2 captchas for the coins to be credited to your account.
• pw is a multi-faucet that gives away 20 coins, including ZEC. Every five minutes you can get 134 zatoshi ZEC. Withdrawal is available both on faucethub and to any wallet.
• win – 350 zatoshi every 5 minutes + by viewing links from 400 to 1500 zatoshi without timing. Withdrawal is available on faucethub and to any wallet.
• win – truck faucet with output to faucethub. To receive Zcash you do not need to complete any tasks - everything happens automatically. After registration, you will need to add wallets, select the desired cryptocurrency and click “Start”. The size of the reward depends on the selected timer, which can be specified in the settings.

Advantages and disadvantages

Pros:

1. Anonymity, the importance of which was discussed above.
2. Mining difficulty. At the moment, to profitably mine ZEC, it is not necessary to purchase an ASIC; less powerful equipment is also suitable.

Minuses:

1. Only the Linux operating system is officially supported.
2. Transactions are not very fast, since the system performs a lot of calculations to send them

Wallets

On the official Zikesh website there is a link to the official wallet, but many users, especially beginners, find it inconvenient to use it - it works through the console and does not have a graphical interface.

There is nothing stopping you from using any other popular crypto wallet that is convenient for you personally. The list of supported wallets is also given on the website: Coinomi, JAXX, Exodus, Ledger, etc.

How to mine Zcash (ZEC)

The network is maintained by miners. The algorithm used is Equihash (PoW). Tokens are added to the system by creating new transaction blocks. On average, generating one block takes two and a half minutes.

The reward per mined block is 12.5 ZEC, and it will halve every four years (approximately 840 thousand blocks), as is the case with Bitcoin. The block size is limited and equal to 2 megabytes.

Prospects and forecast

Analysts suggest that over the next few years, Zcash will become a highly sought-after tool for those who value transaction anonymity and do not want to reveal movements in their accounts. And there are more and more such people, which is why the forecast for the ZEC coin is positive.

Important improvements play a significant role in the advancement of the project. They will simultaneously increase network performance and enhance privacy. The first stage has already been completed in the summer of 2022. Future plans include simplifying work with smart contracts, increasing scalability and perfecting the consensus mechanism.

Expert opinion

Most experts are positive towards ZEC.

They believe that Zcash truly fulfills one of the main purposes of cryptocurrencies - anonymous transactions.

Opinion leaders are also confident that ZCash is a long-term project.

These include, for example, Van Valkenburg, director of research at Coin Center.

“There are really amazing projects like Ethereum, Bitcoin and Zetcash. I think they will survive and will exist in the future,” Valkenburg said on the American channel CBS.

Even Edward Snowden noted the anonymity of Zicash.

“Zcash's privacy makes it the most interesting altcoin. Bitcoin is great, but “if it's not private, it's not secure,” Snowden wrote on Twitter.

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