What is Zcash (ZEC)?
Zcash launched on 28 October 2016 as a privacy-focused cryptocurrency derived from Bitcoin's codebase. It was developed by the Electric Coin Company, led by Zooko Wilcox, building on academic research into zero-knowledge proofs.
- Type
- Privacy cryptocurrency
- Launched
- 2016
- Consensus
- Proof of Work (Equihash)
- Max supply
- 21 million ZEC
- Swap network
- Zcash
- Sector (Messari)
- Cryptocurrency
How Zcash works
ZEC is mined with Equihash proof of work and follows a Bitcoin-like halving schedule. Its distinguishing feature is optional shielded transactions, which use zk-SNARKs to hide sender, receiver and amount while still proving validity. Transparent addresses beginning with t work like Bitcoin's public ledger, while shielded and unified addresses keep details private.
What ZEC is used for
People use ZEC as a digital cash that can be sent either publicly or with strong on-chain privacy. It is also held and traded as a long-running store-of-value asset in the privacy category.
ZEC supply
Total issuance is capped at 21 million ZEC, released through block rewards that halve roughly every four years; the most recent halving came in November 2024.
Before you swap ZEC
NEAR Intents supports Zcash through transparent addresses only, starting with t1 or t3, so the deposit address shown is transparent and any withdrawal address you enter must be transparent too, not a shielded or unified one.