ZCash (ZEC) Introduces Shielded Addresses with Sapling Update

ZCash (ZEC) has successfully rolled-out the Sapling network update, completed at block height 419200. ZEC, being one of the younger crypto coins with confidential features, has gone through the necessary improvement to drive adoption.

“Sapling introduces new shielded addresses with significantly improved performance: a time reduction of 90% for constructing transactions, and a memory reduction of over 97%. Sapling activation, occurring on the momentous occasion of the currency’s second birthday, brings us one step closer to widespread adoption of an open, permissionless and private payment system,” explained the project team in a blog.

For ZCash users, the new addresses will not be immediately usable, as funds transferred from old addresses would need to be de-anonymized. The ZCash team is working on a tool to transfer to the new addresses with minimal exposure of the funds. Wallets and exchanges are advised to start using the Sapling update, and the ZCash community also has the possibility of popularizing the new type of address.

Following the news, the ZEC market price did not react with an immediate spike, and in fact slid along with the rest of the markets, in a small-scale flash crash. ZEC slid from above $120 toward $116, lost within minutes as of 14:00 UTC.

ZEC still has the trading profile of a risky coin, with volumes distributed between Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Bitcoin (BTC). The coin seems to be supported by LBank trading, as well as speculation on the Korean markets.

The popularity of ZEC has also grown, as the news of the Sapling update coincided with a listing on eToro, the European trading service. The listing was announced in a recent blog, initially with limitations on trading.

https://twitter.com/FleitzPierre/status/1056906224841699329

The crypto community immediately noticed the addition, greeting the opportunity to get exposed to one of the promising altcoins.

ZEC was one of the coins praised by Vitalik Buterin for using the most robust confidentiality technology. Additionally, the coin has been fighting to get ahead of the pack of altcoins, and has reaped some success, being added to the choices of Grayscale Capital. ZCash has been forked into ZenCash (ZEN) and ZClassic (ZEC).

Neither the author nor the publication assumes any responsibility or liability for any investments, profits, or losses made as a result of this information. Cryptocurrency trading and investing are risky propositions, and market participants are advised to always conduct thorough research.