What is Zencash (Zen)? A Guide for Beginners.

Since the birth of the first cryptocurrency – Bitcoin, many digital currencies with innovative features have been created. Some of these projects have proven that they can go beyond being used for settlement purposes. And one of such projects is the Zencash, a platform that aims to become the most secure network for settlements, file sharing, and communication with emphasis on privacy.

What is ZenCash?

Zencash is an end-to-end secured system with zero-knowledge technology that securely stores and transmits data, values, and communication. The ZenCash protocol revolves around censorship-evasion, transactions anonymity, and privacy.

The ZenCash currency is the Zen, although developers are still working on the services and products that will use Zen as a base currency. As at the time of writing this post, Zen is ranked 116 in the crypto market with a market cap of $72M, according to coinmarketcap.

Features of Zencash

Zencash possesses a wide array of amazing features that allow file sharing, documents publication, fully encrypted communication among users, encrypted economy, etc. Some of the characteristics of  the ZenCash network include:

Encrypted Publishing: The ZenCash network encourages secure and anonymous publishing thereby promoting one-to-many private communications among users on the blockchain.

Encrypted Communication: The ZenCash network distributes secure, and private communications with an application for clients that utilize secured nodes of shielded transactions. The platform ensures that there is no leakage of metadata that is linked to a transaction.

Privacy: ZenCash keeps details of every transaction on the network away from prying eyes of the public by shielding all transactions.

History of Zencash

On 23 May 2017, Z classic finished block 100,000 which produced a hard fork, and the hard fork was ZenCash. Its founding team includes; Rob Viglione, Rolf Versluis, and Ross Kenyon.  ZenCash is a fork of Z classic, while Z classic is a fork of Zcash, which was forked from Bitcoin. So, ZenCash is like Bitcoin with improved security and anonymity features, a different goal, and a development team behind it.

ZenCash was created mainly to have a new coin that would meet their goals, and ideologies under their control.

How Does Zencash work?

ZenCash works like Zcash protocol that allows its users to determine whether to make their transactions to be encrypted or to be transparent.

If a user wants to make his transaction on the network to be encrypted, he uses his “Z-address,” if the user wants the transactions to be transparent, he will have to use his “t-address.”

ZenCash uses  ZK-Snarks to facilitate private transactions and employs domain fronting to hide internet connections endpoints.

ZenCash uses secure messaging functionality within shielded transactions that helps to keep users identity safe. This is done with the aid of three systems:

ZenChat: This uses a customized secured communication, and are encrypted with industry recognized algorithms such as the AES-256.

ZenPub: This system uses IPFS in line with ZenCash development, to anonymously publish documents through the field of a Z-addr.

Zenh=Hide: This system utilizes domain fronting to explore crypto-commerce blocking. With domain fronting, the endpoint of communication is made hidden.

Challenges of Zencash

The ZenCash network uses the same technique as Zcash. This is not a great idea because if anything should happen to Zcash’s platform, that will automatically threaten the existence of Zencash. This was stated according to the chief engineer of Zencash, Versluis.

However, should anything happen to the Zcash’s network, it would not alter the protocol level communication and ZenCash’s security measures in existence.

Where to Buy Zen?

At the moment, Zen cannot be bought using fiat currency. It can only be gotten through the exchange of other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. In other words, a potential Zen coin owner would have to purchase another digital currency from a crypto exchange platform that accepts fiat currency and then exchange it for ZenCash from exchanges like Bittrex, Binance, Cryptopia, and many more. Please click here for the complete list of exchanges.

How to Store Zen?.

The Zen can be stored in various wallets formats which include:

Mobile wallet: For now the mobile wallet that helps to store Zen coin is only available for Android smartphones, while plans are being made to develop a mobile wallet for IOS devices.

Paper Wallets: These are like hardware wallets that involve the printing of a user’s private key which is in the form of a QR code on a paper, and then storing it in a secured place.

Arizen and Swing Wallets: These are wallets are downloaded on a particular PC, and can only be accessible on that specific device.

Web Wallets: This is a web interface that allows wallet access through a browser.

Conclusion

The Zencash network does not only provide a medium for settlement, but it also aids in file sharing, documents publication, and messaging. With Zencash privacy-based communication, it is going to change how the world interacts with it.

Zencash network privacy does protect not only the protocol but also the packet data sent between nodes.