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Zcash (ZEC) is a decentralised open-source cryptocurrency that offers transaction privacy through the use of zero-knowledge cryptography. This means that every transaction is shielded, and it hides the sender, the recipient and the amount of the transaction on the blockchain. However, ZEC is not completely anonymous. Every payment is visible on the public blockchain – only the participants in the transactions and the amounts are hidden.
If you want to learn more about ZEC, read on. Our simple guide will show you where it is available for Australians, steps to buy and sell ZEC as well as things to consider when buying it.
This is our quick guide to just one way to buy ZEC. Compare some other options in the table below.
You can buy ZEC with a credit card on Changelly or you can buy it on some exchanges using fiat currencies, including Coinspot where you can pay in AUD. You can also buy ZEC with cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
Exchanges listing ZEC include the following:
Once you've decided to buy ZEC, here are some steps you could follow to buy it:
Step 1. Create an account at an exchange that offers ZEC
Compare exchanges listing ZEC to find your exchange of choice. In doing so, you are undertaking due diligence while empowering yourself to select the exchange that best suits your needs. Once you have chosen an exchange, sign up for an account at their website. Most of the accounts will be created using your email.
Some exchanges require that you submit ID documents for verification. After that, you will be able to deposit funds and trade.
If you want to deposit fiat currencies, a local exchange CoinSpot accepts AUD, but you will need to verify your ID before you can use its services.
Most crypto exchanges accept only cryptocurrency deposits, so you would have to acquire cryptocurrency such as BTC first that can be paired with ZEC. If you decide to use CoinSpot, log into your account and from the Dashboard click "Deposit AUD".
If you have opted to buy ZEC from an exchange which only accepts cryptocurrency deposits and don’t have any crypto such as BTC, you can follow our guide on how to buy BTC. Alternatively, you can check out our guide to getting started with buying cryptocurrency with your AUD.
To buy ZEC, find a button that says “Exchange” or “Markets” depending on the exchange you selected. Find the relevant pairing from a list of currency pairs, for example ZEC/BTC if you are buying ZEC with BTC or ZEC/USD if you are buying ZEC with USD. You can then proceed to the "Buy" tab where you can enter in the amount you wish to purchase and hit a button to confirm this.
If you are using CoinSpot, you need to click "Buy/Sell” and type ZEC in the search tab. You can then buy ZEC by entering the number of tokens you want to buy or by entering the amount of AUD you are willing to spend. Click “Buy” when you are ready.
You can sell ZEC on the same exchange where you buy it. This process is similar to Step 3 above, except this time you would reverse the pairing order (i.e. select “BTC/ZEC” if you wish to sell ZEC in exchange for BTC) and reverse the pairing order (i.e. select “BTC/ZEC” if you wish to sell ZEC in exchange for BTC) and use the Sell ZEC tab.
There are multiple types of wallets you can use to store ZEC.
While wallets that support ZEC have private keys as a minimum layer of protection for your cryptocurrency, hardware wallets are usually considered the safest among all cryptocurrency wallets.
ZEC uses a zero-knowledge cryptography, known as zk-SNARK (zero-knowledge Succinct Non-interactive Arguments of Knowledge), developed by the team behind ZEC. Zero-knowledge proof works by allowing one party to prove to another that a statement is true without revealing any information beyond the validity of the statement. This allows the network to maintain a secured ledger while keeping sender, recipient and amount transferred private.
ZEC also has the option to send public payments that work similar to BTC. Users can choose whether to send private or public payments. If you send a payment from a shielded to a transparent address, the received amount is public, while if you send payment from a transparent to a shielded address, the received amount is private.
Additionally, ZEC is a fork of bitcoin (BTC), and it works on the Equihash memory-oriented proof-of-work algorithm, which means mining is determined by how much RAM you have.
Find out more about how ZEC works in our introductory guide.
If you are wondering whether to buy ZEC or any other cryptocurrency, it’s important that you are aware of the risks involved as prices are unpredictable. In addition to this, you should consider the points below if you want to buy ZEC:
Bearing this in mind and using the above as a starting point for your own research, you should be able to make a more informed decision about buying ZEC.
Image: Shutterstock
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