What Zcash is in simple terms?

Zcash is the world's first anonymous cryptocurrency that allows you to hide all information about transfers except that they were made. It is up to the user whether to mask the information in the blockchain or leave it open. In other words, it is possible to conduct public transactions, similar to Bitcoin. That is what makes the ZEC cryptocurrency different from others. This article will learn how this cryptocurrency works, how to buy ZEC, and why to invest in Zcash.

Buy ZEC right now!
Buy ZEC right now!

Where to buy ZEC in Somalia?

To buy Zcash in Somalia, you need to register on the exchange, which supports this cryptocurrency. After that, you can pay with any electronic money or other cryptocurrencies. The most reliable and convenient exchanges are:

1. Binance

2. Okex

3. Huobi

Ways to invest in Zcash

Although Zcash crypto was created to make quick, anonymous transfers, it is often used to earn money. In addition to mining, there are other ways to make money, such as trading. 

Contracts for difference (CFDs) are derivatives that allow traders to speculate on the price fluctuations of several assets without physically purchasing them.

How to buy ZCash (ZEC)?
How to buy ZCash (ZEC)?

The essence of CFDs is that the buyer and seller agree that the seller will pay the buyer the difference between the asset's price when the deal is opened and its price at the time of expiry of the agreement resulting in a profit for the trader. If the difference is negative, the buyer must pay the difference to the seller instead.

Traders buy (Buy) CFDs expecting prices to go up and sell (Sell) when they expect prices to go down. The transaction can be closed at any time, either a profit or a loss. If a user is going to invest in Zcash in Somalia, CFD is one of the most convenient and profitable tools. 

The cryptocurrency Zcash (ZEC) is a digital product of developers who sought to create a protocol that offers a new level of privacy. Zuko Wilcox is the founder and head of the Zerocoin Electric Coin Company, which developed the Zerocoin protocol based on the altcoin in 2013-14.

It was initially created to convert bitcoins into zerocoins, which provided greater anonymity by hiding payment details. The protocol also allowed users to split or merge their zerocoins and then convert them back.

The technical details of the algorithm merit an entire dissertation, so we'll leave them out. The important thing for us is that ZEC allows transactions in a public blockchain, hiding the sender, recipient and amount of the transaction.

The Zcash’s history
The Zcash’s history

Characteristics of Zcash

The zk-SNARK (zero-disclosure proof technology) leaves no trace of the action. As a result, Zcash financial transactions have a higher anonymity level than other cryptocurrencies.  

Distinctive features of Zcash:

  • The Zcash cryptocurrency creates complete payment privacy - in fact, it is mathematically guaranteed anonymity, which is provided by a decentralised network with a shared blockchain.
  • Many experts are convinced that this feature is the main advantage of the cryptocurrency, which does look quite attractive against the relative anonymity of Bitcoin.
  • The entire contents of Zcash transactions are fully encrypted and confidential, and the system itself is based on an innovative cryptographic method for payment verification.
  • To date, the cryptocurrency has a total market capitalisation of around $66.5 million, with a daily trading volume of $7 million, which is quite impressive.
Distinctive features of Zcash
Distinctive features of Zcash

Comparison of Zcash and Bitcoin

Since the creators of Zcash were inspired by Bitcoin, let's compare these two attractive crypto-assets. 

Zcash (ZEC) uses a new technology involving a zero-disclosure proof method that allows someone to prove something (e.g. that they own more than 10 ZEC) without revealing sensitive information (e.g. the total number of ZECs they own). Anonymous transactions made using this technology in Zcash are called screened transactions.

This is in stark contrast to bitcoin: if your bitcoin address is publicly available, everyone can view your balance and what addresses you have ever interacted with. Even if you did not publish your address, software from companies such as Chainalysis and Elliptic could help reveal it and your identity if you have interacted with addresses that are not anonymous.

Imagine that everyone you know, and even strangers, can see how much money you have in your bank account and how you spend it. Even if these transactions are entirely legitimate - you probably wouldn't want the whole world to know about them anyway.

Figuring out who made a particular transaction is like finding the missing piece of a puzzle: it becomes easier because most of the "puzzle" is already solved.

Zcash and Bitcoin have a total supply of 21 million coins, and they are obtained through a mining process. But, remarkably (and uniquely), the corporate development team (Zcash, CEO Zuco Wilcox) and the non-profit Zcash Foundation (chairman Andrew Miller) are funded directly from the blockchain.

That is achieved by sending 20% of the reward for mining Zcash for the first four years to the company's co-owners (founders, employees, consultants, investors), which amounts to 10% of the total coin stock. This reward for founders provides funding and support for Zcash as a whole.

Information about ZCash
Information about ZCash

How are Transactions Conducted?

As you probably know, blockchain technology is very complex. It can sometimes be tough to understand how a particular cryptocurrency works. However, you don't have to worry. We will try to explain it to you as simply as possible in this article. After all, you need to know this if you desire to buy Zcash.

The Zero-Knowledge Proof protocol is the main technology that makes ZCash such a good blockchain. This is what allows transactions to remain anonymous. Let's look at some examples of what Bitcoin and ZCash transactions look like:

Bitcoin transaction: Wallet DEF456 sent 1.5 BTC to wallet GHI789 at 13:00 on 1 November 2021.

Once a block is confirmed, this information is sent to a public blockchain that anyone can see. Not only that, once you know the address of the wallet, you will have the ability to track every transaction associated with it. Even the wallet's balance information will be available to anyone.

Even if no one can find out your identity just from your Bitcoin wallet address, it still reveals much information about you.

More and more shops have started accepting Bitcoin as a payment method, especially in Japan, where there are already more than 200,000 of them! If you go into one of these shops and pay in Bitcoin, the shop owner will be able to view your transaction history if you wish.

ZCash is strikingly different in this regard. Let's take a look at its transaction.

ZCash transaction: Wallet XXXXXX sent X.X ZEC to wallet XXXXXXXX at 13:00 on 1 November 2021.

As you can see, the only information available to the public blockchain will be the date and time of the transaction. That makes ZCash truly private and untraceable. 

Zero-Knowledge Proof technology was created back in the 1980s by three academics at the University of Massachusetts Technology.

As the name implies, the Zero-Knowledge Proof concept allows the system to verify transactions without exchanging passwords. That means that keys cannot be hacked or stolen, and no one can see the private information inside the blockchain.

How to store  Zcash?
How to store Zcash?

Methods of storing Zcash

There are many sites where you can download an app for your phone or a program for your computer to manage your Zcash currency balance. Trust only serious resources and use strong passwords. The most popular online wallets for ZCash are:

1. Iq Wallet

2. Coinpayments wallet

3. Trezor wallet

Developers' plans for blockchain development

Zcash technology has its limitations. Two significant limits of zk-SNARKS - data customisation and initial computation - are to be addressed in the future.

A disadvantage of zk-SNARK is that it requires the generation of public parameters when a group of individuals must perform a multilateral computational operation as part of the initial creation of Zcash. The system needs to know that at least one group member has completed its portion without being compromised to maintain the overall Zcash money supply.

Note that this parameter does not affect Zcash's privacy guarantees. New zk-STARK technology is already being tested, providing privacy but not requiring a trust setting.

Creating shielded transactions in Zcash requires a relatively large amount of memory and takes time, which interferes with computer use. Therefore, not all transactions in Zcash are escaped now, which affects interchangeability: some coins may be more valuable than others because they do not have a "questionable past".

The team is focusing on improving features in future updates, which will significantly reduce the memory requirements of machines and speed up the process. Even mobile phones will be able to create zero-disclosure proofs.

That means that most Zcash transactions will be secure, leading to an overall increase in privacy. The development team even hints at eliminating transparent addresses.

How to invest in ZCash?
How to invest in ZCash?

ZEC mining

The computing power of the equipment is used to solve mathematical problems. Coins are provided to the user as a reward. The load during mining, as well as during BTC mining, falls on video cards.

ASIC systems like Antminer Z11, Innosilicon A9 or more powerful are the most effective. Their only disadvantage is that they use only one algorithm. As a result, you can't reconfigure the equipment to mine other coins. On the other hand, video cards are more versatile. The miner can choose the algorithms and even the coins.

However, unless we are talking about large GPU-based farms, video cards are not efficient enough for mining in solo mode. The only way out is to connect to a pool.

To start mining, EWFB software must be installed.

ZCash trading conditions
ZCash trading conditions

What influences the price of a cryptocurrency?

As with other cryptocurrencies, the balance between supply and demand is considered an essential factor affecting the price. It is affected by several things:

  • Publications and statements by experts, business leaders, politicians and bankers. A prime example is a tweet by Elon Musk in May 2021, which sent the price of the anonymous сoin down by 27%, Bitcoin plunged by 14%.
  • Developer actions and announcements - reports of investment or network improvements positively affect the exchange rate.
  • Competition - the number of cryptocurrencies is growing. Successful projects appear, which negatively affect the rate of "old-timers" of the market.
  • Prohibitions and regulatory challenges - countries are reacting differently to the rise in popularity of cryptocurrencies. Increasingly, there are calls from authorities to ban anonymous coins. In addition, many countries are trying to regulate them legally. This hurts quotes.

Users can buy Zcash or trade with CFDs, but always consider the risks.

Investment platform
Investment platform

Bottom line

To sum up, ZCash, on the one hand, looks like a promising project that could take a prominent place among cryptocurrencies. The authors have not rested on their laurels and continue to work on their brainchild. 

The project has reasons to be confident in its further development and promotion. It is supported by reasonably serious investors, including, for example, Digital Currency Group, the owner of an influential media outlet on electronic payments, and some other well-known companies. For our part, we recommend that you decide for yourself whether to buy ZCash or not. But always learn, don't stop reading the news and add to your knowledge. You will succeed!

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