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Zcash Protocol Review: Providing Financial Privacy to Public
People use bitcoin by sharing their payment address that looks like this : mp525tN8b3v4aos32hQT8E6cepdhZVyqVC Let us suppose this bitcoin address belongs to a shopkeeper. The shopkeeper puts this address on a poster behind the shop in the form of a QR code. Now, customers can scan that code with their bitcoin wallet application to pay for their bought items. The problem is anyone can look for that address in the bitcoin blockchain and can see every incoming or outgoing transaction of that address and the total bitcoin balance of the address. Anyone with that information can get an idea of how rich the shopkeeper is and how successful the shop has been in the past. This information can be exploited by bad actors such as robbers for their personal gains. Also, if we are sitting next to someone while they pay for their bought items, then we can get the idea of how rich the customer sitting next to us is, by seeing the most recent incoming transaction to the shopkeeper’s address and then looking up the balance of the sending address i.e the customer address. So, Bitcoin does not provide full financial privacy, and your average innocent user gets no privacy whatsoever. There are various examples like this, where user privacy can be breached and information gained through it can be exploited by bad actors for their personal gains. Zcash protocol solves this problem of financial privacy for the users. It allows users to send money anywhere without risking their privacy. What is Zcash and How does it enhance privacy? Zcash is a privacy cryptocurrency that provides anonymous value transfer using zero-knowledge-proof cryptography technology. Zcash is a bitcoin fork and most of the Zcash code is built from bitcoin’s original open-source code but there is a key difference that it uses encryption techniques in payments for privacy. The protocol provides two choices to the user when they transact, they can choose a shielded address for their transaction which will be fully anonymous or they can choose a transparent address where their transactions will be fully visible on the blockchain. When the user uses a shielded address for their transactions, details of transactions are not available for the public to see on the blockchain. Shielded addresses transaction information is encrypted and is not visible to the public. All the transactions that are executed by transparent addresses are visible publicly on the blockchain. How does Zcash Works? The above diagram shows the whole process of Zcash transactions Zero-knowledge proofs are required to be generated when the user uses shielded addresses for transactions. It allows others to verify transaction details by keeping them private and not revealing them to the public. Shielded addresses always start with a ‘z’ and are called ‘z-addrs’. Similarly, when the user uses transparent addresses, all the transactions interact with the Transparent Value Pool and transactions details are publicly available in the blockchain. These transparent addresses always start with “t” and are called ‘t-addrs’. All the details of transaction fees of both transparent addresses and shielded addresses transactions pass through the Transparent Value Pool and are easily visible in the blockchain. Tokenomics Zcash token symbol is $ZEC. Similar to bitcoin, the maximum supply of Zcash tokens is 21 million. All Zcash tokens will be mined by 2032, and Zcash block rewards will get halved every four years. In the initial four years after the starting of Zcash mining, 20 percent of its block rewards will be distributed to Electric Coin Company, and 80% of its block rewards will be distributed to miners. At the time of writing this article, the circulating supply of Zcash is 11.99 million, the price of Zcash token is 144.40 US dollars and the market cap of Zcash is 1.73 billion US dollars. Main Features of Zcash Low-Fee Transactions Transactions fees on Zcash protocol are very low i.e 0.0001 Zcash. Zcash token is supported by various crypto wallets and exchanges. Encrypted Memos When a user does transactions from a shielded address, a memo field is available to fill in any information. Encrypted memos allow the sender to send information that is encrypted and not available for the public to see. Messages and important information can be passed in the memo field. The Rules of compliance made by the Bank Secrecy Act “Travel” are also followed. Viewing Keys For the purpose of regulatory compliance or auditing, transaction details can be revealed by the owner of shielded addresses. The owner can reveal all the incoming transactions and the info in the memo field but can’t disclose the sender’s address unless any information identifying the sender’s address is already mentioned in the memo field. Multi-Signature Transactions Zcash also supports transactions that require signatures of multiple parties and after their approval, the funds … Continued
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Solana Could Become the Visa of Crypto World, Claims Bank of America
Major US Bank, Bank of America (BoA) compared Solana blockchain to the world’s largest credit card network, Visa. In a research note published Tuesday, BoA research analyst, Alkesh Shah expressed optimism for the top smart contract platform over its ‘scalability, low transaction fees, and ease of use,’ going ahead to add: “Solana could become the Visa of the digital asset ecosystem.” Shah believes Solana even has the potential to take over Ethereum by distinguishing itself through ‘user adoption and developer interest.’ Ethereum, meanwhile, could become the blockchain for ‘high-value transactions and identity, storage and supply chain use cases,’ while Solana grows itself as a settlement layer. Since its launch in 2020, Solana has settled over 50 billion transactions, has more than $11 billion in total value locked, and has been used to mint over 5 million non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Visa, on the other hand, processed 164.7 billion transactions on Sept. 30, 2021. When comparing the transactions per second (TPS) on blockchain networks to those performed on credit card networks, Visa can theoretically handle at least 24,000 TPS but averages around 1,700 while the TPS for Ethereum stands at 15. In comparison, Solana overtakes both Ethereum and Visa with a theoretical limit of 65,000 TPS. Bank of America further stated that Solana and other alternative blockchains could even grab the market share from Ethereum over time. Currently, Ethereum has a market cap of $402 billion, which is more than eight times greater than Solana’s market cap. According to CoinMarketCap, SOL is currently the fifth-largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $47 billion.
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Fashion Retailer Gap Debuts First NFT Collection on Tezos Blockchain
Clothing retailer Gap is launching its first NFT collaboration with a limited-edition, gamified digital experience built on the Tezos blockchain. For this, the fashion retailer collaborated with Brandon Sines, the artist behind the NYC-based Frank Ape project, to create digital art featuring Gap’s iconic hoodies. Beginning Thursday at 9 a.m. PT, Gap’s digital collectibles will feature four levels- Common, Rare, Epic, and One-of-a-Kind, with Common being the first release. Each NFT from this initial drop will be priced at 2 tez (XTZ), or about $8.30. Additional drops will take place over the next two weeks, including the Rare drop on January 15 at 6 tez each ($25), the Epic drop on January 19 at 100 tez ($415) each and the One-of-a-Kind NFT to be auctioned on January 24. The collection will be available to shop exclusively on gap.com/nft and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. “Gap has always been at the intersection of music, art and culture, so we are excited about this growth opportunity in the digital space with artists like Brandon Sines,” said Chris Goble, Chief Product Officer and General Manager of Gap North America. “With this partnership with Gap, the creative cycle has come full circle as it allows me to express the beautiful messages of Frank Ape while collaborating with one of the most classic brands in history. I cannot wait to share the physical and digital pieces we’ve been working on with Gap and Frank fans worldwide.” The company is leveraging Tezos, a proof-of-stake blockchain network that uses a more energy-efficient approach to secure its network with a low carbon footprint. The company is one of many fashion labels to enter the world of NFTs and metaverse. For instance, major fashion brands including Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Ralph Lauren too have dabbled in the nascent industry last year in an effort to promote their brands.
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