Zcash, a coin focused on privacy and anonymity, is now available to trade on Okcoin – with some of the lowest fees around. 👀
TL;DR
- What? You can now deposit, withdraw, and trade ZEC against USD on Okcoin.
- Who? All Okcoin customers including those in the United States, except for residents of the EU, the UK, Singapore, and Brunei.
- When? Deposit, withdrawal, and trading is now live. 🔥
What’s Zcash?
Zcash is a cryptocurrency focused on privacy. It was originally launched in 2016 and was developed out of Bitcoin’s code. Like bitcoin, it can be mined, has a fixed supply of 21 million coins, and is secured by the proof-of-work SHA-256 algorithm. Zcash differentiates itself from other cryptos, however, by being a so-called “privacy coin.”
What’s the need for a privacy coin? Well, contrary to what a lot of people think, most cryptocurrencies on the market are not anonymous, but pseudonymous. This means that even though they don’t reveal their users’ identities, it’s possible to learn a lot about their transactions. Combined with current blockchain analysis techniques, it’s often possible to decipher who’s behind a certain address or transaction. The whole point of Zcash, on the other hand, is to offer the option of transacting fully privately.
How does Zcash work?
Zcash’s innovation is its use of a technology called “zk-SNARK”. The z and the k stand here for “zero-knowledge”. That’s because zk-SNARKs are an encryption technique allowing nodes on the network to verify transactions without leaking private information. Zcash can thus be used in two different modes:
- Transparent: Similar to Bitcoin, transparent Zcash transactions are sent between public addresses and are recorded on the blockchain. They do not explicitly mention the user’s identity but they reveal the amount sent and the sending and receiving addresses. Coupled with the latest techniques of blockchain analysis, this data can help connect a transaction to a real-world identity, making it difficult to transact privately.
- Shielded: Thanks to zk-SNARKs, Zcash can settle transactions by only recording on the blockchain the fact that the transaction happened, without revealing the amount or the sending and receiving addresses. This allows ZEC shielded transactions to be completely anonymous.
