By Mary Ann Callahan
LATEST TENDENCIES IN CRYPTOCURRENCY INVESTMENTS
Of course, it makes sense to start with Bitcoin that grew from $1000 to almost $20,000 over 2017 and is currently dipping at the point of $15,565 (on January 4). So, there’s no doubt that Bitcoin holds first place as a reliable investment in the sphere of cryptocurrency. But every experienced trader knows that it’s not really proper to put all the funds into the most popular coin. Doing so, you can miss a great potential profit, even provided that the risks are higher. See for yourself.
● Ethereum’s price in January 2017 was less than $10, now it strives for $1,000. The rise is almost 10,000%.
● Dash’s rate is very similar. Being about $11 at the beginning of the year, it has already surpassed the point of $1,000.
● Ripple’s price was as little as $0.006, at the moment it’s close to $4.
● And of course, there’s Zcash that significantly upsurged from $50, to the current ZEC/USD rate of almost $600. Its growth rate is a bit lower than that of Ethereum or Dash. You may be surprised, but it’s more of a positive sign if we speak of a long-term investment. So, let’s examine carefully what Zcash is and why it is worth investing in.
WHAT IS ZCASH?
Zcash holds a relatively narrow niche in the sphere, which is private cryptocurrencies, or private blockchains. You can probably guess what that means… a cryptocurrency where you send and receive transactions confidentially, so that no one is able to trace them, because everything is concealed: sender, receiver, and the amount sent. Of course, Zcash is not the only representative in such area, but it’s in high demand, if not the highest one.
Unlike Monero with its stealth transactions, or Dash’s coin mixing, Zcash is based on the zk-SNARK proofs that solve the problem of validating transactions, which cannot be disclosed to anyone. ‘ZK’ stands for ‘zero-knowledge’ and, basically, speaks for itself. It allows one party to prove to another that the ‘statement’ is true without revealing any information about it. So, when you send a transaction, the nodes of the network don’t know anything about it but are still able to validate the payment. This protocol has great advantages when compared to how other private cryptocurrencies work:
It is truly private. To compare, Dash’s coin mixing algorithm works perfectly. Still, it’s theoretically traceable because coins are mixed but not hidden. Whilst in Monero they fill up the network with fake transactions, which is memory-consuming and does not conceal information ultimately. In Zcash, you only see the time when transactions are being carried out and that’s it. So, there’s no way one can trace your money.
It’s not memory-consuming. Unlike Dash or Monero, Zcash doesn’t require any ravelled operations that make it hard to keep the track of payments. This makes the algorithm work effectively and consume less memory than, for example, Monero, where mining is mostly concentrated on CPUs, because GPUs find it hard to process that much data.
WHY DOES ZCASH OPEN UP GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES?
Before going for something, every investor should make a profound study of it. Let’s explore Zcash and find out why it is considered a promising cryptocurrency.
It’s young compared to other cryptocurrencies
The Zcash network began operating a bit more than a year ago. To compare, Ethereum is on the scene since the midst of 2015, not to mention the rest Altcoins that are mainly released in 2014 or earlier: Dash, Litecoin, Ripple, Monero.
Now, consider this - Zcash has been operating for about 14 months and its price has already exceeded $500. Many analysts say that Zcash has all the chances of surpassing $2,000 and going further in 2018.
Furthermore, in a swiftly developing sphere, the younger the product is, the more advanced is the technology applied. (Of course, provided that a group of professionals stand behind it.) It is true for Zcash, because zk-SNARKS are steps forward in comparison with other privacy protocols. That’s why many people, including Edward Snowden consider Zcash the best alternative to Bitcoin. Whilst, there is no doubt as for professionalism of the inventor and people working on it…
One of the greatest development teams
The inventor of Zcash is Zooko Wilcox — a computer security specialist with over 20 years of experience in the field of cryptography, decentralization, and information security. Together with a team of academic cryptographers, they have come up with the zk-SNARK proofs that became the basis of Zcash.
It’s always important to regard the actual developers, involved in the project, especially when it comes to cryptocurrency. Because nothing affects its price as much as the trust among potential and actual holders, which in turn directly hinges upon the team working on the project and the credibility they have. So, there’s no surprise that Zcash is highly supported, especially by people who know a thing or two in cryptography and decentralization.
Ultimately, there’s Zcash’s roadmap that reveals developers’ plans for the coming year. One of the proximate goals is to introduce the encrypted technology for smartphone users that, no doubt, will essentially increase the usage of the coin. One of the most ambitious objectives is to release the Sapling upgrade with User-Issued tokens. With such functionalities applied, Zcash will not only be the number-one private cryptocurrency but also become the Ethereum-like network aimed for commerce and many kinds of businesses. Suchlike factors have been propelling its price in 2017 and will definitely continue to in 2018. So, the point of $2,000 is very probably not the limit.