Zcash

Zcash is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that uses zero-knowledge cryptography (zk-SNARKs) to enable encrypted, private peer-to-peer payments. It was invented by a group of scientists who in 2013 set out to solve Bitcoin's lack of privacy, originally proposing an extension called Zerocoin before recruiting additional scientists and pivoting to build a standalone protocol. Zcash was brought to life by Electric Coin Co., founded in 2015 by computer security specialist and cypherpunk Zooko Wilcox, and the Zcash network itself launched on October 28, 2016. The protocol supports both transparent and shielded transactions and addresses, letting users choose whether transaction details are publicly visible on-chain or encrypted. Wilcox served as Electric Coin Co.'s CEO until stepping down from that role in December 2023. Zcash is decentralized and self-funded, with a portion of block rewards funding ongoing protocol development by an ecosystem of contributors.