A detailed investment case with supplementary offsite data

2019년 2월 7일

Privacy coins occupy a function within the cryptocurrency industry that many of the early adopters of cryptocurrencies consider essential.

Bitcoin itself is often incorrectly referred to as an anonymous way of transferring value. Security experts call it pseudonymous privacy, like writing books under a codename. You can preserve your privacy as long as your wallet address is not linked to you.

1- Privacy solved with leading technology

Originally based on Bitcoin Core's battle-tested codebase, ZCash was able to capitalize on the privacy issues of Bitcoin and forked its codebase so that there are now two types of transactions on its blockchain: shielded (using zk-SNARKS) and unshielded (just like on the original Bitcoin blockchain), making privacy an option for its users. zkSNARKs are the most exciting/interesting way (as Vitalik or Snowden would say) to make blockchains private.

2- Efficient, usable, widely supported

Zcash is a fast, reliable and inexpensive way to send money or digitally purchase goods and services. It is also supported by all the top exchanges and wallets.

For a detailed list see Figure 1 here:

imgur.com/gnc1Hdq

3- Multisignature transactions

Zcash supports transactions that require multiple signatures. This means that a transaction may require two or more parties to agree to the transaction before funds are sent.

4- A world-class team

ZCash is led by Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn, a world class computer security specialist. The team has by far the most expertise in zero-knowledge cryptography, it's natural that they are looked to and respected.

5- The Controversial Founders’ Reward

10% of the eventual monetary base goes to the founders so that there is continued incentive and continued resources for the founders to improve the value of the coin. I am backing Edward Snowden in the logic that a reward is important to attract the best minds to work on the Zcash project. Consistent payment of the developers allows them to discover issues and patch them before they can be exploited by opportunistic parties. Whilst this is open to debate, a steady budget should help push things forward with development and education.

6- Exposure: Zcash for Institutional Investors and Family Offices

There are a variety of potential market participants, among them hedge funds, venture capital firms, high-net-worth individuals, and pension funds that now have financial options available:
Custodians: hold your Zcash for you to help minimize the risk of lost keys or theft
Investment vehicles: allow investors to gain exposure to Zcash without having to hold it themselves.
Trading firms: offer access to counterparties for the purpose of large over-the-counter (OTC) trades.

For a detailed list of some of the big names involved see Figure 2 here:

imgur.com/U6JmhkM

7- Progressing towards becoming audit and regulation friendly

In the world of cryptocurrencies and digital assets, which by default are intangible, trust, risk management and reasonable assurance are key. In the crypto market there is a huge problem with market integrity and with consumer protection. Music to the ears of regulators is that payment disclosure and special "viewing keys" can be used to share transaction details with trusted third parties for compliance or audits or to comply with regulatory requirements.

8- Audited meticulously

Zcash is going to great lengths to make sure their code is world-class by ensuring world class cyber security audits by third parties. This separates Zcash from 99% of all other cryptos out there.

For more information on cyber security audits please see the respective reports at Kudelski Security, NCC Group, QEDi and Coinspect

Additional positive quantitative data:

Figure 3: Stacked Daily ZCash Exchange Volume_ZCash Market Capitalization:

imgur.com/JykDX16

Figure 4: Realized Market Capitalization vs Market Capitalization_ ZCash Undervalued

imgur.com/ScqPyJA