Pros and Cons of ZCash

If you have read our guide to ZCash, you would know that it is a privacy coin built around the idea of great security, fungibility and of course privacy. Clearly, these in itself are some great pros to go for? Are these all? Or do the cons trump the pros? Let’s find out in these detailed lists.

Pros of ZCash

1. ZCash Is Anonymous:

ZCash is specially designed to help you keep your transactions as private and anonymous as possible. Now, there are two options you can go for: either the high-encryption hidden address one or the ordinary public address one. If you do choose to hide your address, then the transaction fee will be somewhat higher but the great encryption standards will make sure that possible attackers are not able to locate any details about the transaction except the fact that it happened and what time it happened around. Besides that, the source, destination, which coins were used etc. will not be traceable at all. It has zero knowledge proofs ensured so that sensitive transaction data is not leaked. This feature is clearly the prime pro of this privacy coin, as it is for others of its kind, like Monero or DASH.

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2. Every ZCash Coin Can Be Exchanged For The Other:

ZCash, by virtue of the privacy and anonymity it provides, is also fungible or completely interchangeable. This is a very important quality of money and ZCash passes this test with flying colours. Basically, since the transaction details are not recorded in the ZCash transactions, even if a coin has been used for illegal purposes (say for an unscrupulous arms deal on a dark web marketplace) before, you can use it as though it is as good as new if you have acquired it honestly. The same cannot be said for Bitcoin, which, with its clear records, stamps a coin with its history. This interchangeability makes ZCash a very flexible and effective coin to use.

3. ZCash is ASIC-Resistant:

ZCash was designed to reduce the high dependence on expensive and heavy equipments such as graphics cards and application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC). This is a feature meant to keep mining democratic. However, earlier this year, the ASIC community voted against prioritizing this feature any more than it already is. In terms of the different consensus protocols used in blockchain, ZCash has gone for the common Proof of Work (PoW) variant but has changed it a little to come up with the Equihash PoW algorithm, that makes equipment optimization possible.

4. A Fixed Supply Cap of ZCash Ensures High Prices:

By basic law of economics, the fact that ZCash has hard capped its total supply at 21 million makes sure its prices will have a more or less incremental curve. Even if it falls, the limited supply would prevent it from falling too law.

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Cons of ZCash

The following points or flaws of ZCash pose obstacles to its absolute perfection. Let us take a look at some of the pitfalls that this privacy coin just couldn’t avoid.

1. Legal Issues Surrounding The Privacy of ZCash:

It is obvious that in case of these privacy coins, legal compliance and regulatory clearance will be a problem because there is simply no way to know how a person will use it. Even if a user uses it for unscrupulous goals, there is no way of tracing it. In fact, dark web marketplace AlphaBay was reportedly considering the use of ZCash for their transactions for this very reason. This makes ZCash an unsuitable candidate for trustworthiness.

2. ZCash Can Be Mined Through Only CPU Mining:

ZCash is designed primarily for Linux users and is restricted to CPU mining. While it can be used on Windows or MAC, the CPU mining option is not the most profitable one out there. This is a major issue with ZCash.

If you do end up being swayed by the more numerous coins of ZCash, don’t rely on the coin’s inherent security feature alone. Instead, make sure to store your holdings in one of the best cryptocurrency wallets of 2018.

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