Hardly Anyone is Using Zcash's Anonymity Features (And We Couldn't Tell If They Were)

There's been plenty to gawk at since Zcash's October launch. Heralded as the world's most anonymous cryptocurrency, Zcash rode a wave of hype with its cypherpunk origin story (complete with its own secretive "ceremony") and an initial frenzy where speculators drove the price of its tokens over $1,000 before they were even released. But perhaps above all, the technology has become synonymous with the promise of its bleeding-edge cryptography, zk-SNARKS, which shield senders and receivers, as well as the balances of each zcash address. Only users with the correct "key"....

A group of European hackers is holding an ICO for an altcoin that it claims is a version of ZCash that has improved privacy and anonymity, the group announced in a prepared statement. The self-described “ethical” hackers group views this altcoin, called Ebitz, as suited for use on the Deep Web. Ebitz tokens will be available for purchase through Dec. 26 or until it reaches its 500 BTC goal. Unlike ZCash, Ebitz doesn’t support “founder rewards.” The consensus algorithm has been changed to proof-of-stake to prevent the platform from being controlled by few centralized GPU farms. An Improved....

Even though Wilcox claims his startup is not aimed at making illegal activities easier for criminals, he is quick to note how his company will not be liable for ZCash applications in a criminal environment. Bitcoin has often been touted as an untraceable and anonymous digital currency, even though it is neither at its core. Strangely enough, mainstream media has forgotten all about the headlines they wrote until a few weeks ago, as an untraceable Bitcoin alternative has launched. ZCash looks to bring anonymity to the digital currency ecosystem, making it perfect for those who wish to use....

Over the past few months, an increasing number of cryptocurrency enthusiasts and investors have cited the importance of ZCash and its potential impact on the ecosystem of digital currencies in terms of privacy and anonymity. However, there exists a relatively large community of experts and users that aren’t convinced of the ZCash hype train. Merits. Many investors and experts including Dan Morehead of prominent bitcoin venture capital Pantera Capital are optimistic towards the features of ZCash that can cover the limitations of bitcoin. As Morehead outlines, some of them include: Selective....

ZCash, a new Zooko Wilcox project, has impressive list of investors and advisers, but will the new cryptocurrency pass the reality check of decentralisation and anonymity? Genesis block’s launch is near. October 28 may see the launch of the genesis block of ZCash - a new cryptocurrency from the same name project led by Zooko Wilcox. The project causes great interest: without being a genuine market player yet, the company has become a part of Digital Currency Group; the buzz around ZCash is really huge, and the currency itself was valued even before the actual release. On the surface it....