Zcash is a decentralized and open-source cryptocurrency that offers privacy and selective transparency of transactions. Zcash payments are published on a public blockchain, but the sender, recipient, and amount of a transaction remain private. Zcash is based on peer-reviewed cryptographic research, and built by a security-specialized engineering team on an open source platform based on Bitcoin Core's battle-tested codebase. Our improvement over Bitcoin is the addition of privacy. Zcash uses advanced cryptographic techniques, namely zero-knowledge proofs, to guarantee the validity of transactions without revealing additional information about them. How Zcash works Zcash encrypts the contents of shielded transactions. Since the payment information is encrypted, the protocol uses a novel cryptographic method to verify their validity. Zcash uses a zero-knowledge proof construction called a zk-SNARK, developed by our team of experienced cryptographers based on recent breakthroughs in cryptography. These constructions allow the network to maintain a secure ledger of balances without disclosing the parties or amounts involved. Instead of publicly demonstrating spend-authority and transaction values, the transaction metadata is encrypted and zk-SNARKs are used to prove that nobody is cheating or stealing. Zcash also enables users to send public payments which work similarly to Bitcoin. With the support for both shielded and transparent addresses, users can choose to send Zcash privately or publicly. Zcash payments sent from a shielded address to a transparent address reveal the received balance, while payments from a transparent address to a shielded address protect the receiving value. Check out CoinBureau for guide on What is ZCash.
Komodo is an end-to-end blockchain infrastructure solutions provider. Consistently recognized as one of the world’s most innovative blockchain projects, Komodo is developing technologies at the cutting-edge of the blockchain industry. In reality, most blockchain platforms today are but a single blockchain that offers support for smart contracts and decentralized applications. This model forces all projects to share the same infrastructure, leading to congestion, increased transactions fees, and stifled growth. Whereas other blockchain platforms employ a single, shared-blockchain model, Komodo’s federated multi-chain architecture provides each and every external project with independent infrastructure and a dedicated blockchain. This multi-chain design is what makes Komodo unique among blockchain platforms. Each project is given the opportunity to create their own blockchain ecosystem via Komodo’s infinitely scalable infrastructure. Komodo’s tech enables seamless cross-chain interoperability among all federated blockchains. Every blockchain built with Komodo is also connected to 95% of chains outside the federation via atomic swap technology. Future plans are in place for blockchain bridging support, which will create cross-chain fungibility throughout the entire blockchains industry. Moreover, with Komodo’s architecture, multiple blockchains can sync up and function as a single chain. If one chain is not meeting performance needs, additional chains can be added to form a blockchain cluster. A blockchain cluster boosts performance linearly without inflating coin supply or devaluing the currency. The Komodo ecosystem is not only scalable and interoperable, it’s also secured with the power of the Bitcoin network. This is accomplished with a series of cross-chain notarizations that store a blockhash onto the Bitcoin ledger every ten minutes, providing protection from 51% attacks. Join Komodo as we continue to accelerate the global adoption of blockchain technology.