What is Zcash (ZEC) and how does it work?

Zcash is a cryptocurrency built to make private payments possible on a public blockchain. Its coin, ZEC, can be sent either openly or in "shielded" form, where the network confirms the payment is valid without seeing who paid whom or how much. It went live on October 28, 2016, and calls itself the first cryptocurrency to use zero-knowledge encryption for private payments.

How do Zcash shielded transactions work?

Zcash has two kinds of addresses. Transparent addresses, which start with "t", show balances and transfers on the public ledger, much like bitcoin. Shielded addresses keep that information encrypted.

Shielded transactions rely on zk-SNARKs, a type of zero-knowledge proof. The proof convinces every node that no coins were created from nothing and nobody spent money twice, while revealing none of the details. Funds can move between transparent and shielded addresses.

Privacy can be relaxed on purpose. A viewing key gives someone, such as an auditor, read access to a shielded address's history without the power to spend from it.

The shielded system has been rebuilt over time. In late May 2026 a researcher found a flaw in the Orchard pool's circuit that could, in theory, have allowed counterfeit ZEC. Analysts found no evidence it was used. Orchard was disabled on June 2, patched, and on July 28, 2026 the Ironwood upgrade added a new shielded pool and made Orchard withdrawal-only.

What is Zcash used for?

ZEC is used to make payments and to pay network fees. The main draw is choice: a user can keep a payment private, or use a transparent address where openness is needed. The broader debate over that kind of privacy, including exchange delistings, is covered in what is a privacy coin.

What is Zcash mining?

Zcash uses proof of work with an algorithm called Equihash. Specialized ASIC machines now dominate mining. Blocks arrive about every 75 seconds.

The block reward halves roughly every four years. The second halving, in November 2024, cut it from 3.125 to 1.5625 ZEC. Since then, 80% of each block subsidy goes to miners, 8% to Zcash Community Grants and 12% to a fund that ZEC holders vote on how to spend. More than 16.8 million of the 21 million ZEC had been issued by August 2026.

Who runs Zcash?

The Electric Coin Company created Zcash and led development for about a decade. On January 7, 2026, its whole team resigned after a dispute with the nonprofit board that owns the company. Former staff then formed ZODL, which makes the Zodl wallet, formerly called Zashi.

The Zcash Foundation, a separate nonprofit, holds the Zcash trademarks and maintains the Zebra node software. Changes are proposed as Zcash Improvement Proposals and debated in public. They take effect only when the network adopts an upgrade, a process similar to a hard fork. For how Zcash's approach compares with its closest rival, see Monero vs Zcash.