Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini announces the offering of shielded withdrawals of cryptocurrency Zcash (ZEC). Shielded withdrawals will ensure more individual privacy and financial freedom.
Gemini is the first-ever regulated crypto exchange to offer shielded withdrawals of privacy coin Zcash. With this functionality, no one can know about the address or the amount in the address.
Transparent and Shielded Addresses
Privacy coin ZEC is a Bitcoin fork with an exceptional individual privacy facility, and it provides two kinds of addresses: transparent (t-addresses) and shielded (z-addresses). As compared to transparent addresses, shielded addresses protect all information about a transaction, such as an amount in address and identity of sender and receiver. According to Gemini:
“Forked from the battle-tested Bitcoin codebase, ZEC goes beyond traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin by providing you with complete control over what information is shared about your transactions on the blockchain. Zcash offers two types of addresses: “shielded” (z-addresses, which start with a ‘z’) and “transparent” (t-addresses, which start with a ‘t’)”
Gemini normally stores ZEC tokens in transparent addresses, but after this update, people can transact those funds into shielded addresses. But the exchange allows deposits from both shielded and transparent addresses. Gemini said:
“This is an exciting moment for crypto, marking the first time shielded ZEC withdrawals are available on a regulated exchange. Gemini’s mission is to empower the individual through crypto. By providing you with this feature — confidential, encrypted withdrawals — we are taking another step toward giving you back control of your privacy and advancing our mission.”
Exchanges’ Concerns for Privacy Coin Zcash
It is not yet confirmed that the latest facility of the exchange is approved by regulators or not. However, Gemini said that “with the right controls in place and the proper education, regulators can get comfortable with privacy-enabling cryptos.”
Regulators have many concerns over cryptocurrency due to its private nature which may assist in illegal activities. For instance, some crypto exchanges in Japan delisted ZEC coins in order to comply with the regulatory body. Last year, two prominent exchanges, OKEx and Upbit, also removed Zcash from the platform. Similarly, Coinbase terminated Zcash trading for users in the United Kingdom.