Zcash as a New Investment?

There is a lot of buzz in the cryptocurrency marketplace at the moment about Zcash, amateur and professional investors alike are excited about some of the altcoin’s possibilities, and ZEC to USD prices are reflecting that. In this article, we take a look at Zcash and give you a rundown of what to expect from this popular cryptocurrency.

What is Zcash?

Zcash burst onto the exchanges in 2016, gaining popularity immediately and generating a lot of interest from the crypto community as a whole. The dream of the coin’s creators was to launch an altcoin that would have enhanced privacy features and allow users to transact easily and anonymously.

As a result, Zcash became very popular among the more privacy-conscious individuals that had been using other cryptocurrencies to transact up until that point. This functionality was heralded as the future of cryptocurrency, so investors and miners were quick to jump on to the coin.

How is Zcash Doing Now?

Two years is a long time in the crypto sphere, and Zcash has experienced some of the same teething issues as other altcoins. Cryptocurrency as a whole is susceptible to market volatility, with sharp rises in coin prices coming off the back of speculation and then equally sharp drops when investor confidence diminishes.

Currently, Zcash is performing on a relatively consistent basis in line with other altcoins of its type. It is being mined (although 20% of all coins mined within the first 4 years are handed directly to the creators) and traded actively.

Privacy is King

Fundamental to Zcash success is the enhanced privacy features, whereby the transactions are encrypted to protect an individual’s anonymity. Because of this, many people are using the coin for purposes of buying and selling, which other altcoins don’t always have the luxury of.

This usage is of particular importance because investors will be looking to buy a coin that has real retail value as well as the potential for growth.

Users frequently praise Zcash as being a fully private and useable cryptocurrency, and its creators are always quick to point out how successful the token is for achieving anonymous transactions.

Privacy Could Also be its Downfall

With added consumer protections comes the ability for criminals to use and exploit the token. Because Zcash is now readily available, secure and private, there are a lot of organised crime syndicates trading exclusively on the black market and dark web in Zcash.

This has led to a lot of intense scrutiny from governments and regulatory bodies all over the world. It is rumoured the Japanese regulator is about to ban Zcash from all exchanges, and there have also been rumblings that the UK government and US government are set to follow suit.

Because a portion of its user base is abusing the features, the coin has unfortunately been tarnished with a reputation as a bad altcoin.

What is the Zcash Price?

The great news is that thus far there hasn’t been too much interest in a potential ban among investors, and the coin continues to remain at a stable price of $315 with a market capitalization of $1.2 billion.

While these figures aren’t exactly setting Zcash alight in comparison to Bitcoin and other altcoins, they are still attractive from an investment perspective.

What is the Future for Zcash?

Zcash is in a position of great uncertainty. On one side of the argument, there is a real sense that the coin could grow and flourish, perhaps surpassing altcoins that are currently in front of it. With the new EU GDPR legislation, the European Union at least is moving towards a more secure, safe and anonymous data environment; so Zcash fits neatly into that future.

With the supply limit a long way off, there is plenty of time for amateur miners to get in on the action as well as room for exponential coin value growth.

The counter-argument is one that Zcash will need to address at some point in order for it not to fall foul of regulatory bodies; that is the criminal activity aspect.

With Zcash being the coin of choice for criminal organisations, it is becoming increasingly untenable from a regulatory sense for Zcash to be openly traded on the market. If this does spill over and isn’t addressed at some point, it could have some truly devastating effects on the coin and likewise its value. How much of an impact legislation and bans will have on Zcash remains to be seen.

Will Zcash Ever Challenge Bitcoin?

This is a difficult question to answer. In many ways, Zcash has a lot of fantastic advantages over Bitcoin, especially in the privacy arena. The biggest obstacle Zcash would have in overthrowing Bitcoin is purely the sheer momentum behind Bitcoin. Bitcoin has an extremely high investor confidence and for Zcash to contend with that, it would need to be demonstrably better from an investment perspective. It is safe to say, it is nowhere near there yet.

Should You Invest in Zcash?

As with all altcoins, Zcash has many features that set it apart from Bitcoin, investors will be looking keenly at these features and where they fit into the overall market and the world at large. When considering whether to invest in Zcash, you should fully research the token, its uses and historical performance.

There are plenty of resources available online as Zcash is one of the major altcoins on the crypto market. Make sure you find out all you can about Zcash and other altcoins today!

Once you have read up as much as you can and educated yourself about Zcash, you will be able to make an informed decision as to whether it is the best crypto coin for you.