Zcash is a fast and private digital currency that costs low fees and is perfect for mobile payments. The Zcash network (ZEC) aims to provide more privacy in transactions as compared to Bitcoin and similar coins. It was launched in 2016 by a team of independent scientists, Electric Coin Co., and cryptographers. It provides the option to safeguard the information about the sender, receiver, and balance of a transaction to the users with the help of zk-SNARKS, a cryptographic technology.
Now, Zcash has become one of the most popular privacy coins using blockchain technology. There are several contributors from all parts of the world who support the development of the protocol and Zcash ecosystem. Hence it is becoming more strong and more decentralized in the processes of community funding and governance. Using the native token ZEC, Zcash empowers transactions on the whole network.
Zcash (ZEC) Fundamental Analysis
Zcash is a privacy-preserving cryptocurrency that transfers values anonymously and uses zero-knowledge cryptography. The protocol gives the options of shielded, transparent, and anonymous transactions to be there on the Zcash blockchain. The blockchain pays some portion of its block reward as the “Founder’s Reward” for funding the protocol development. The Founder’s Reward is currently allocated to the Electric Coin Company and the Zcash Foundation to develop the Zcash protocol, respectively.
One of the most prestigious technical teams in the world launched Zcash, and many independent organizations get funded to novelize it. They have made it the first practical implementation of zk-SNARKS in a new form of zero-knowledge cryptography. It gives protection to the freedom of spending and saving money with the strongest privacy than any other digital currency. So, it is also called ‘HTTPS of blockchains’. It is now available for trade on top-known exchanges, digital wallets, and a high number of applications.
With the growth of the ecosystem and the entrance of more funds, Zcash continues to become more decentralized, with a much more diverse community and stronger technology. A Zcash development fund issues a total of 20% mining rewards to three organizations, while the other 80% gets allocated to miners. Community platforms, Zcash development funds, and initiatives collectively provide an incentive to the team and developers to increase their efficiency, fix bugs, provide a better user experience, build out applications, and pitch ideas.
How Zcash works
There are two types of transaction addresses in ZCash that are z and t addresses. The t-address are the transparent transactions that cause de-shield transactions, while the z-address represents private transactions that make shielded transactions between two users. You can get the ZEC token and trade it with other digital currencies using exchanges or brokers and then spend them or save them using only a mobile phone or a desktop and a digital wallet. In any social class, if you have an internet connection, you will have access to use Zcash as anyone else.
In Zcash, users have full control over sharing transaction’s view keys; as compared to other public ledgers, as in other public ledgers, only the people with the correct keys can see the contents of a transaction. Here, transactions are independent of the cooperation from the other parties. Researchers from various worldwide universities contributed to input in the diligent science used in Zcash. Hence, they implemented the zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge, briefly known as zk- SNARKs. This makes the cheap fees possible for private digital money.
Tokenomics
ZEC is the native currency of the Zcash network. The total supply is twenty million Zcash coins and is often referred to as lowercase zcash. The transactions of Zcash are both transparent and shielded. Transparent transactions are the ones that are the same as Bitcoin. The addresses and transaction amounts are visible in them.
However, in shielded transactions, addresses and transaction amounts are hidden for operating. Anyone who is using shielded transactions has the ability to disclose transaction metadata selectively for auditing and regulatory purposes.
Zcash mining rewards are divided between the miners and the stakeholders, including Zcash Foundation and a few of its employees. Miners get 80 percent of the reward, while the remaining stakeholders share the remaining 20 percent.
Zcash blockchain has been designed after Bitcoin. A similar halving procedure was adopted where rewards are halved at set intervals. In this case, the intervals would be four years apart. The next halving is approaching fast. Expected to approach in November 2022, the halving would cut the block mining rewards down to 3.125 ZEC, half of the current reward.
Zcash Future Plans
They have not announced a future roadmap but have completed their commitments and plans made in the past, showing their dedication to achievements and accomplishments. Researchers of Johns Hopkins University wrote the paper “Zerocoin: Anonymous Distributed E-Cash from Bitcoin” to introduce the way to use zk-SNARKS to add privacy to Bitcoin in 2013. It was difficult to add such a complex privacy scheme to Bitcoin, so they decided to launch a new coin with this technology implemented onto it.
A computer scientist Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn started it using the Electric Coin method. The developers decided to use a ‘trust setup’ or a ‘ceremony’ to use zk-SNARKS to create Zcash as it needs the developers to never leak secret data in any situation during the setup process. In 2017, Zcash improved the process by launching a second trusted setup. The improved zk-SNARKS technology facilitated more developers’ involvement. It also lowered the chances of failure of the trust set up.
Zcash also implemented the Sapling hard fork upgrade in 2018 to improve the activity and confidentiality of the cryptocurrency’s shielded transactions. In 2021, ECC announced the plans to shift Zcash away from its proof-of-work consensus mechanism with a more interoperable and energy-efficient staking system. Zcash also decided to eliminate the trusted setup to add future upgrades.
The Zcash team had also worked to make easier use of shielded transactions. As the transactions had become more guzzled up using higher than normal computational power and non-private transactions. For the future, Zcash has launched Halo and Halo 2 developments to offer the best opportunities for the privacy of this coin and resolve some of its most highlighted problems. Zcash is in conversation with the top privacy coins and will continue to walk ahead to gain privacy for itself and become top listed in this race.
Zcash (ZEC) Price Analysis
The Zcash price is $85, with a market capitalization of $1.2 billion. Zcash is considered a Currency under the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS) of Coindesk. It had hit an all-time high price of $1,624.58 the day right after its launch in October 2016. It also surged again to $800 in 2018. ZEC then reached $318.92 after a fall in 2020. Now, with a trading volume of $162 million, Coin Market Cap ranks ZEC at 45th in market cap rankings. It has the potential to achieve heights after every bearish price trend.
Rank: 208
Crypto Academy Zcash (ZEC) Price Prediction
We have jotted down the expected prices of Zcash after studying their price history and market price predictions.
Zcash (ZEC) Price Prediction 2022
By 2022, Zcash can prove itself as one of the best investments for its zero-knowledge cryptography and the level of privacy it provides. It might trade at around $350 by the end of 2022. Our prediction says that it can reach around the minimum price of $320, with an average price of around $300.
Zcash (ZEC) Price Prediction 2023
As per our ZEC price prediction, its price may continue to grow in 2023, and it may touch the highest price level of $550 as it protects the information about the sender, receiver, and balance of a transaction using cryptographic technology zk-SNARKS. The minimum price can be about $520, and the average trading price of around $480.
Zcash (ZEC) Price Prediction 2024
We expect the ZEC price to reach the maximum of $620 by the end of the year as the team has the incentives to fix all the problems and provide a better user experience. The minimum price can be $570 in 2024, and the average price can be $600 throughout the year.
Zcash (ZEC) Price Prediction 2025
As per our 2025 Zcash price prediction, the price of Zcash price might reach $850 at the highest level, while the lowest price level of Zcash can be about $780, with an average price of $815. It is progressive as the users have full control for sharing the transaction’s view keys.
Zcash (ZEC) Price Prediction 2026
Our price prediction says that the ZEC coin has a profitable investment as they are continuously working to address the criticism faced by it. It can have a minimum price of $830 and a maximum price of $1,000. The average price can be approximately $925.
Zcash (ZEC) Market Price Prediction
Most crypto-related platforms have a positive view of Zcash’s future price, and we have talked about some of them below.
Wallet Investors
Their prediction shows a long-term positive increase in the price of Zcash. At present, you can buy 0.822 ZEC for $100. However, its price can increase to $418 by the year 2027, making your current $100 investment $344 in that year. That would be a profit of +244% to the investors in a period of five years.
Priceprediction.net
They expect the ZEC price to reach a maximum price of $247.39 and an average price of $231 by the end of 2022. They have also estimated a price of $1,040 for Zcash through their five-year plan. Their specific business experts and analysts have also estimated the highest Zcash price to touch $8,057 by 2030.
Digital Coin Price
They predicted the minimum, average, and maximum prices of $149.06, $155.65, and $158.47 in 2022. For 2025, the minimum value they predicted is $206.66, with a maximum price of $302.54 and an average value of $268.66. Zcash has also predicted for 2027 an average price of $341.52, the maximum value of $341.52, and the minimum value is $234.23. The price can be at a minimum of $533.33 in 2030 and a maximum of $563.29, with an average trading price of $541.86.
How to Buy ZEC
It is safe and easy to buy ZEC by following the simple steps below.
Step 1: Create an Account
Select an exchange for buying Zcash, such as Coinbase, KuCoin, Gemini, Kraken, Bitstamp, and Bittrex. You have to pick up a unique username and strong password for Kraken while providing your email address. You would also need to verify your account using your name, date of birth, region, and phone number if you want to buy ZEC with other cryptocurrencies. However, if you want to use fiat money (such as USD, EUR, or CAD), you have to confirm your identity through the supporting documents needed by the platform.
Step 2: Fund your Account
After making your account, you must fund your account either with fiat money or a cryptocurrency to buy Zcash. You have to select a payment method for that. Kraken offers many ways to fund their accounts, such as SWIFT, SEPA, and domestic wire transfer. You can prefer one based on your region and convenience. It is also easy to transfer crypto to Kraken. You just have to generate a new deposit address to have funds from your crypto wallet in the account.
Step 3: Buy ZEC
After funding your account, you are fully ready to buy ZEC. Kraken provides free access to 24 hours customer support service on each day of the year and custom charting tools for all its accounts. To resolve any possible issues of the clients, they provide the option of LiveChat and email anytime. To attain ZEC, open the ‘New Order’ page and fill in the information required in the order form. Then, review the information to ensure accuracy and confirm your trade by clicking ‘BUY’.
Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)
Is Zcash a Good Investment?
Yes, ZCash is a good investment as compared to DeFi coins and other main cryptocurrencies, as trusted by many crypto experts. Despite the varying conditions in ZCash’s history, the analysts consider its value to grow exponentially in the long term due to the peer-reviewed scientific approach of its developers.
Will ZEC Reach $1000?
ZEC can easily reach $1000 in 6 to 7 years, as it continues to be one of the most attractive cryptocurrencies for investments.
Where to Buy ZEC?
You can buy ZEC on exchanges that allow the trade of altcoins, such as Coinbase, KuCoin, Gemini, Kraken, Bitstamp, and Bittrex.
Takeaways
- Zcash is a privacy-preserving cryptocurrency that transfers values anonymously and uses zero-knowledge cryptography.
- The protocol gives the options of shielded, transparent, and anonymous transactions to be there on the Zcash blockchain.
- The blockchain pays some portion of its block reward as the “Founder’s Reward” for funding the protocol development.
- They implemented the zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge, briefly known as zk- SNARKs, to make cheap fees possible for private digital money.
- ZCash is a good investment as compared to DeFi coins and other main cryptocurrencies, as trusted by many crypto experts.
- It might trade at around $350 by the end of 2022.
- As per our 2025 Zcash price prediction, the price of Zcash price might reach $850 at the highest level.
- It can have a minimum price of $830 and a maximum price of $890 in 2026.
- ZEC can easily reach $1000 in 6 to 7 years, as it continues to be one of the most attractive cryptocurrencies for investments.
- You can buy ZEC on exchanges that allow the trade of altcoins, such as Coinbase, KuCoin, Gemini, Kraken, Bitstamp, and Bittrex.