About Zcash
Zcash (ZEC) is a privacy-preserving cryptocurrency launched in October 2016 by the Electric Coin Company and a team of cryptographers including Zooko Wilcox. Built on a fork of the Bitcoin codebase, Zcash introduced production-grade zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs) to public blockchains, allowing fully shielded transactions where the sender, recipient, and amount are not visible on-chain. Users can choose between transparent and shielded transactions on a per-transaction basis.
Zcash uses Equihash proof-of-work and shares Bitcoin's 21 million maximum supply and four-year halving schedule. The Halo 2 proving system, introduced with the 2022 NU5 upgrade, removed Zcash's original trusted setup and unified shielded transactions in the Orchard pool. A scheduled portion of block rewards funds ongoing development through the Zcash Development Fund, split between the Electric Coin Company, the Zcash Foundation, and grant programs.
Zcash is supported by major exchanges (where regulation permits), self-custody wallets such as Zashi, Ywallet, and Nighthawk, and a number of mobile-first shielded payment apps. Beyond the protocol itself, the Zcash community contributes to broader privacy and zero-knowledge research, including FROST threshold signatures, Halo proof systems, and standards for shielded payments referenced across the industry.
Crypto Market Watch tracks the live Zcash price ranked #16 by market capitalisation, 24-hour and 7-day price changes, market capitalisation, trading volume, circulating supply, and all-time highs and lows on this page. Data refreshes continuously throughout the trading day so investors can monitor ZEC market activity in real time.
