Question 1

What's the latest ZEC news?

Accepted Answer

### Top Story Bitget hackers have transferred $4 million into Zcash's private pool, making the stolen funds more difficult to trace due to Zcash’s privacy features[^[1]](https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/30/bitget-hackers-move-usd4-million-into-zcash-s-private-pool-making-funds-harder-to-trace). This incident highlights ongoing security challenges and may influence perceptions of Zcash's privacy technology among regulators and exchanges. ### Other Highlights - Gemini, owned by the Winklevoss twins, is updating its Zcash software in preparation for a network upgrade that will enable faster 25-second block times[^[2]](https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/09/30/winklevoss-owned-gemini-switches-zcash-software-ahead-of-faster-25-second-blocks). - Zcash (ZEC) saw a 12% daily price drop, raising questions about whether this is a normal correction or a signal of a deeper downturn. - AI-driven predictions have spotlighted Zcash as a potential cryptocurrency to watch in October. ### Market Context Zcash gained 5.42% over the past 24 hours, outperforming the CoinDesk 20 index, which rose 1.13%. This performance comes amid broader crypto volatility, with Bitcoin briefly returning to $84,000 before giving up early gains[^[5]](https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/30/live-updates-bitcoin-below-usd84-000-ahead-of-pce-inflation-data-micron-earnings). The surge in ZEC may be partly driven by renewed attention from both technical developments and high-profile incidents involving its privacy features. ### What’s Next? With a major hack exploiting Zcash's privacy tools and an upcoming protocol upgrade, stakeholders will be watching how exchanges, regulators, and the community respond. Will increased scrutiny or technological improvements shape Zcash’s trajectory in the coming weeks?

Question 2

What is Zcash (ZEC)?

Accepted Answer

ZEC is the coin used on the Zcash blockchain. “Zcash” refers to the protocol and network rules, while “ZEC” is the monetary unit that users hold and transfer. Zcash’s monetary policy targets a fixed supply of 21 million ZEC.

Zcash is a cryptocurrency network that supports both transparent transactions and shielded transactions. Shielded transactions use zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs) so the network can validate a transaction without publishing the sender, recipient and amount on-chain.

Zcash uses proof of work for consensus and is specified in the Zcash Protocol Specification. The proof-of-work algorithm is Equihash.

Question 3

What is Zcash (ZEC) used for?

Accepted Answer

ZEC is used to transfer value on the Zcash network. Users can send ZEC using transparent transfers (t-addresses), where amounts are visible on-chain, or shielded transfers (z-addresses), where key transaction details are encrypted but still verifiable by the network.

ZEC is also used to pay transaction fees. Fees are paid by the sender and are collected by miners when transactions are included in blocks.

Because Zcash uses proof of work, newly issued ZEC is distributed through the block subsidy paid in each mined block. Since the 2024 halving, the protocol has also allocated a portion of block rewards to development funding streams defined by network upgrades and ZIPs.

Question 4

How privacy works in Zcash (addresses, pools, Halo, disclosures)

Accepted Answer

Zcash keeps a transparent pool (public) and shielded pools (encrypted). Shielded pools hold encrypted notes, while the transparent pool uses publicly visible amounts. Zcash has had multiple shielded pools over time, including Sprout (legacy), Sapling and Orchard. Transactions can move value within a pool or between pools depending on the inputs and outputs used.

Network Upgrade 5 (NU5) enabled full support for the Orchard shielded protocol and moved Zcash to the Halo proving system. NU5 removed the need for the trusted setup used by earlier Zcash proving systems.

Zcash defines Unified Addresses (UAs), which bundle multiple receiver types (for example transparent, Sapling and Orchard) into a single address encoding. This lets wallets choose a compatible receiver when constructing a transaction, without changing what any given service chooses to accept. Unified Viewing Keys extend the same idea to viewing permissions across receiver types.

For selective disclosure, Zcash supports viewing keys, which separate spending authority from the ability to view shielded address activity. This is documented in ZIP 310.

Zcash also specifies payment disclosures (ZIP 311), which allow a sender to disclose information about shielded spends and outputs within a transaction as a proof of payment, without sharing spending keys.

Question 5

Issuance, halvings and block subsidy allocation

Accepted Answer

New ZEC enters circulation through the block subsidy when miners produce blocks. Zcash targets a block interval of roughly 75 seconds. The block subsidy reduces over time according to consensus rules, with “halvings” as scheduled reductions in issuance.

Network Upgrade 6 (NU6) activated at block height 2,726,400 around 23 November 2024. From that activation, the protocol-defined block subsidy was allocated as follows:

* **80%** to **miners**
* **8%** to **Zcash Community Grants (ZCG)**
* **12%** to an in-protocol **lockbox** (a pool tracked by consensus rules)

ZIP 1015 defines the lockbox as a deferred funding pool, but it does not define how the accumulated funds are disbursed. It states that the disbursement mechanism will be specified in a future ZIP.

Network Upgrade 6.1 (NU6.1) activated at block height 3,146,400 on 24 November 2025. NU6.1 instituted a funding model where:

* **8%** of block rewards continue to be allocated to **ZCG**
* **12%** of block rewards accrue to a **coinholder-controlled fund**, seeded by the deferred lockbox

Question 6

Governance and the ZIP process

Accepted Answer

Changes to the Zcash protocol are proposed and specified using Zcash Improvement Proposals (ZIPs). ZIPs can define consensus changes, wallet standards and process changes and are published in the public ZIP repository.

ZIP 0 describes the ZIP process. It states that anyone can write a ZIP and that the ZIP’s author is responsible for building community consensus and documenting dissenting views. ZIP Editors manage review and publication within the process.

Consensus changes are delivered through scheduled Network Upgrades that activate at defined block heights. Nodes must upgrade their software to follow the updated consensus rules after activation.

Question 7

Node software and network upgrades (zcashd, Zebra, upgrade cadence)

Accepted Answer

Zcash is run by full nodes that enforce consensus rules and relay transactions and blocks. The long-running reference implementation is **zcashd**, but support for zcashd is being deprecated, with full nodes migrating to **zebrad** (Zebra) and **Zallet** being built as a replacement for the zcashd wallet and parts of its JSON-RPC interface.

**Zebra** is a separate full node implementation written in Rust and maintained by the Zcash Foundation.

Protocol changes are delivered through Network Upgrades that activate at defined block heights. Examples include:

* **NU5**, which enabled Orchard, Unified Addresses and the Halo proving system
* **NU6**, which updated block reward allocations and introduced the lockbox funding stream
* **NU6.1**, which introduced the community and coinholder funding model

Deployment ZIPs describe upgrade mechanics and node compatibility around activation.

Question 8

Integration with exchanges and selective disclosure

Accepted Answer

Support for Zcash address types varies across custodial services. Some services only accept transparent deposits or only support transparent withdrawals, which can require users to move ZEC from a shielded balance into the transparent pool before sending funds to that service.

To help wallets and services express “transparent-source only” requirements, ZIP 320 defines a new encoding for transparent addresses, often referred to as TEX addresses. When paying to a TEX-encoded address, wallets must ensure that no shielded notes are spent in that transaction, so the funds originate from the transparent pool. A related RPC method, `z_converttex`, converts a transparent address into a ZIP 320 (TEX) address.

For address compatibility, Unified Addresses (ZIP 316) bundle multiple receiver types into one address string (for example transparent, Sapling and Orchard receivers). This can reduce the need for users to manage multiple address formats, but it does not override what a given service chooses to accept.

For audit-style workflows without handing over spending rights, Zcash supports viewing keys (ZIP 310), which provide read access to shielded address activity without granting authority to spend funds. Zcash also specifies payment disclosures (ZIP 311), which allow the sender of a transaction to disclose information about shielded outputs within that transaction as a proof of payment.

Question 9

Who created Zcash (ZEC)?

Accepted Answer

Zcash’s privacy design builds on academic cryptography research including the Zerocash protocol described in a 2014 paper by Eli Ben-Sasson, Alessandro Chiesa, Christina Garman, Matthew Green, Ian Miers, Eran Tromer and Madars Virza.

Electric Coin Co. was formed in 2015 and created and launched Zcash on mainnet in October 2016, with Zooko Wilcox involved in leading the project’s early implementation and launch.

The Zcash Foundation was formed in 2017 as an independent non-profit organisation to support Zcash and related infrastructure.

#	Instrument	Exchange	Benchmark Score	Price	24h Change	24h Volume	24h Trades	24h Open	24h High
1	ZEC-USDT ZECUSDT	binance	AA	1,242.45USDT	-1.98%	238,534.26ZEC	1,075,457	1,267.50USDT	1,368.40USDT
2	ZEC-USD ZEC-USD	coinbase	AA	1,241.28USD	-1.97%	125,395.25ZEC	114,987	1,266.27USD	1,372.91USD
3	ZEC-USDC ZEC-USDC	okex	A	1,241.11USDC	-1.97%	94,188.94ZEC	1,250,038	1,266.00USDC	1,368.00USDC
4	ZEC-USDT ZEC-USDT	okex	A	1,242.45USDT	-1.98%	61,610.26ZEC	176,385	1,267.51USDT	1,368.72USDT
5	ZEC-USD XZECZUSD	kraken	AA	1,240.32USD	-2.01%	32,234.95ZEC	41,974	1,265.78USD	1,378.91USD
6	ZEC-USDT ZECUSDT_SPBL	bitget	BB	1,242.48USDT	-1.94%	31,015.11ZEC	61,159	1,267.08USDT	1,368.00USDT
7	ZEC-USDT ZEC_USDT	gateio	A	1,242.67USDT	-2.00%	22,070.43ZEC	71,516	1,268.03USDT	1,368.24USDT
8	ZEC-USDT ZEC-USDT	kucoin	BB	1,242.20USDT	-2.00%	19,109.25ZEC	89,734	1,267.60USDT	1,368.45USDT
9	ZEC-USDC ZECUSDC	binance	AA	1,241.29USDC	-1.94%	16,239.63ZEC	58,014	1,265.89USDC	1,368.00USDC
10	ZEC-EUR XZECZEUR	kraken	AA	1,103.14EUR	-2.29%	6,259.17ZEC	10,274	1,129.00EUR	1,220.29EUR
11	ZEC-USD zecusd	gemini	A	1,240.62USD	-2.02%	3,699.43ZEC	9,482	1,266.24USD	1,370.76USD
12	ZEC-USDT ZEC_USDT	whitebit	BB	1,242.33USDT	-1.96%	2,796.86ZEC	9,232	1,267.15USDT	1,369.14USDT
13	ZEC-USD zecusd	bitstamp	AA	1,239.13USD	-2.11%	2,589.92ZEC	1,601	1,265.81USD	1,366.52USD
14	ZEC-EUR ZEC-EUR	okex	A	1,105.15EUR	-2.45%	1,691.78ZEC	12,263	1,132.86EUR	1,217.29EUR
15	ZEC-USD ZECUSD	bitfinex	BB	1,236.80USD	-1.10%	1,374.33ZEC	6,830	1,250.50USD	1,358.50USD
16	ZEC-BTC ZECBTC	binance	AA	0.01514BTC	-0.38%	1,350.90ZEC	6,993	0.01520BTC	0.01616BTC
17	ZEC-USDC ZEC_USDC	whitebit	BB	1,237.48USDC	-2.36%	857.33ZEC	1,479	1,267.39USDC	1,366.60USDC
18	ZEC-USD1 ZECUSD1	binance	AA	1,229.79USD1	-3.18%	220.64ZEC	533	1,270.12USD1	1,367.09USD1
19	ZEC-U ZECU	binance	AA	1,241.57U	-2.19%	109.79ZEC	1,266	1,269.32U	1,366.52U
20	ZEC-BTC ZECBTC	bitfinex	BB	0.01499BTC	0.62%	108.55ZEC	984	0.01490BTC	0.01609BTC
21	ZEC-BTC ZEC-BTC	kucoin	BB	0.01516BTC	-0.15%	101.86ZEC	1,842	0.01518BTC	0.01614BTC
22	ZEC-ETH ZECETH	binance	AA	0.5161ETH	0.00%	96.55ZEC	3,036	0.5161ETH	0.5450ETH
23	ZEC-BTC ZEC_BTC	whitebit	BB	0.01513BTC	-0.65%	82.70ZEC	74	0.01523BTC	0.01607BTC
24	ZEC-EUR zeceur	bitstamp	AA	1,141.00EUR	-0.75%	3.46ZEC	17	1,149.62EUR	1,215.54EUR
25	ZEC-USDT ZECUSDT	toobit	C	1,242.45USDT	-1.98%	59,484.06ZEC	85,738	1,267.49USDT	1,368.14USDT
26	ZEC-USDT ZEC_USDT	poloniex	C	1,235.33USDT	-2.13%	52,935.15ZEC	98,017	1,262.25USDT	1,362.42USDT
27	ZEC-BTC zec_btc	yobit	-	0.01529BTC	-0.16%	51,165.11ZEC	748	0.01531BTC	0.01608BTC
28	ZEC-USDT zec_usdt	xtpub	-	1,240.17USDT	-2.16%	34,798.37ZEC	12,691	1,267.50USDT	1,367.61USDT
29	ZEC-USDT ZECUSDT	bitrue	D	1,241.49USDT	-2.05%	14,647.91ZEC	247,890	1,267.50USDT	1,367.47USDT
30	ZEC-USDT sZECUSDT	phemex	C	1,242.46USDT	-2.02%	8,290.37ZEC	5,922	1,268.10USDT	1,367.90USDT
31	ZEC-USDT ZECUSDT	mexc	C	1,241.34USDT	-2.04%	5,264.96ZEC	17,097	1,267.24USDT	1,368.24USDT
32	ZEC-EUR ZECEUR	bit2me	B	1,102.64EUR	-2.33%	4,968.96ZEC	9,117	1,129.00EUR	1,220.29EUR
33	ZEC-USDT zec_usdt	digifinex	D	1,241.57USDT	-2.09%	4,321.58ZEC	8,020	1,268.08USDT	1,367.28USDT
34	ZEC-USDT ZEC_USDT	coinw	-	1,240.19USDT	-2.15%	4,107.78ZEC	14,434	1,267.45USDT	1,368.16USDT
35	ZEC-USDC ZECUSDC	bitrue	D	1,239.55USDC	-2.10%	3,897.13ZEC	4,382	1,266.20USDC	1,366.97USDC
36	ZEC-USDT ZEC_USDT	p2pb2b	D	1,239.88USDT	-2.16%	2,750.33ZEC	85,468	1,267.31USDT	1,368.38USDT
37	ZEC-USDT zecusdt	huobipro	C	1,241.51USDT	-2.01%	2,656.36ZEC	57,037	1,266.94USDT	1,366.01USDT
38	ZEC-USDC ZEC_USDC	p2pb2b	D	1,239.98USDC	-2.05%	2,661.83ZEC	23,241	1,265.89USDC	1,368.00USDC
39	ZEC-USDC zec_usdc	xtpub	-	1,238.58USDC	-2.16%	1,297.49ZEC	7,988	1,265.89USDC	1,367.49USDC
40	ZEC-USDT ZECUSDT	binanceusa	B	1,242.65USDT	-1.95%	1,167.13ZEC	10,172	1,267.31USDT	1,368.24USDT
41	ZEC-USD ZECUSD	edxmarkets	C	1,240.27USD	-2.20%	1,091.09ZEC	847	1,268.14USD	1,367.40USD
42	ZEC-USDT ZEC-USDT	bigone	-	1,241.11USDT	-2.16%	887.08ZEC	5,256	1,268.49USDT	1,368.47USDT
43	ZEC-USDT ZEC_USDT	bydfi	-	1,240.75USDT	-2.09%	722.94ZEC	6,877	1,267.24USDT	1,367.96USDT
44	ZEC-BTC ZEC_BTC	p2pb2b	D	0.01514BTC	-0.46%	300.72ZEC	2,982	0.01521BTC	0.01614BTC
45	ZEC-INR ZECINR	coindcx	-	124,231.50INR	-2.94%	197.38ZEC	4,028	127,999.80INR	138,000.00INR
46	ZEC-USDC ZEC_USDC	backpack	C	1,238.73USDC	-1.88%	157.53ZEC	973	1,262.49USDC	1,365.24USDC
47	ZEC-BTC zec_btc	xtpub	-	0.01514BTC	-0.38%	135.21ZEC	1,776	0.01520BTC	0.01614BTC
48	ZEC-USDC ZECUSDC	mexc	C	1,240.49USDC	-2.12%	71.22ZEC	3,702	1,267.30USDC	1,366.61USDC
49	ZEC-ETH zec_eth	xtpub	-	0.5134ETH	-0.54%	48.43ZEC	1,271	0.5161ETH	0.5450ETH
50	ZEC-USD1 ZECUSD1	mexc	C	1,239.77USD1	-2.34%	41.04ZEC	2,986	1,269.50USD1	1,365.79USD1