ZEC View

Zcash privacy

How Zcash Privacy Works

Quick Answer

Zcash supports both transparent and shielded transactions. Shielded transactions use zero-knowledge proofs to validate payments while hiding key financial details from the public blockchain. Transparent transactions remain publicly visible, including the addresses and amounts involved. Zcash privacy is therefore not automatic anonymity for every transaction: it depends on the transfer type, the receivers and features supported by your wallet, and how you actually send or receive funds. Viewing keys let you share selected shielded payment information when you need to, without publishing the same details to everyone.

Key Takeaways

  • Zcash supports both transparent and shielded transactions.
  • Shielded transactions hide key financial information from the public blockchain.
  • Transparent transfers remain visible and their public transaction graph can be followed.
  • Viewing keys support selective disclosure of shielded payment information.

Privacy Basics

Is Zcash Private?

Understand what shielding protects and where public information remains.

Viewing Keys

Learn how scoped keys support selective disclosure.

Privacy Technology

Address formats describe possible receivers, not a guarantee that every wallet supports every payment method. Orchard names a shielded protocol; Ironwood is a distinct value-pool context discussed in the upgrade documents.

Address Types →Zero-Knowledge Proofs →Orchard and Ironwood →

Privacy Data

These balances show ZEC held in shielded pools, not the number of private users or a transaction privacy score.

Total Shielded ZEC

4,934,922.969 ZEC

Observed · ZecStats

2026-09-04: 4864109.0310811492026-09-05: 4864111.81219362026-09-06: 4870980.117748862026-09-07: 4876617.282746832026-09-08: 4881261.028316322026-09-09: 4894754.539334062026-09-10: 4895011.016870382026-09-11: 4896119.725804562026-09-12: 4896066.128201872026-09-13: 4894848.845505852026-09-14: 4894181.028520832026-09-15: 4895930.61746382026-09-16: 4901551.09901922026-09-17: 4918657.894107342026-09-18: 4917223.89160662052026-09-19: 4914337.557234562026-09-21: 4914843.799390352026-09-22: 4912450.582725242026-09-23: 4907340.1101388092026-09-24: 4909019.994685582026-09-25: 4898247.02232842026-09-26: 4896515.996779682026-09-27: 4894720.991763162026-09-28: 4894386.268352262026-09-29: 4890487.070590312026-09-30: 4942693.076473532026-10-01: 4939995.266811552026-10-03: 4934922.968950709

Shielded Supply

29.09%

Observed · ZecStats

2026-09-04: 28.7563540674699142026-09-05: 28.7532974455560262026-09-06: 28.790848007980072026-09-07: 28.8211091747465742026-09-08: 28.84552533466132026-09-09: 28.922185323720992026-09-10: 28.920646202142782026-09-11: 28.9241286680782822026-09-12: 28.9207313798314052026-09-13: 28.9105017586361052026-09-14: 28.9034819227545482026-09-15: 28.9107731723279932026-09-16: 28.9408969845562252026-09-17: 29.038848872767172026-09-18: 29.0272873842937362026-09-19: 29.007206719863872026-09-21: 29.0040317114475242026-09-22: 28.986848212150582026-09-23: 28.9536523631702462026-09-24: 28.9604614643655152026-09-25: 28.893884016060372026-09-26: 28.880609159569542026-09-27: 28.866967775891662026-09-28: 28.8619192078803982026-09-29: 28.8359208663487652026-09-30: 29.1406625802878952026-10-01: 29.1229247261943162026-10-03: 29.087454083309844

Ironwood Balance

4,058,313.3713 ZEC

Observed · ZecStats

2026-09-04: 3864541.591975162026-09-05: 3868764.091463672026-09-06: 3886030.548999272026-09-07: 3901062.140992122026-09-08: 3908402.190943232026-09-09: 3929647.208718632026-09-10: 3937007.456280862026-09-11: 3942095.184062982026-09-12: 3944291.240255992026-09-13: 3943242.95612032026-09-14: 3943133.893435982026-09-15: 3946329.016836382026-09-16: 3952732.97939352026-09-17: 3971020.665674112026-09-18: 3971619.507822582026-09-19: 3974299.080735322026-09-21: 3994614.815757612026-09-22: 3994266.419578812026-09-23: 3997428.18815562026-09-24: 3998217.941570942026-09-25: 3989756.818224662026-09-26: 3990269.694019312026-09-27: 3990263.646321832026-09-28: 3990018.768167362026-09-29: 4008369.441635082026-09-30: 4062792.448234472026-10-01: 4060423.874050872026-10-03: 4058313.37131994

Orchard Balance

377,412.5659 ZEC

Observed · ZecStats

2026-09-04: 455777.051563782026-09-05: 451828.129018642026-09-06: 441672.689565232026-09-07: 436057.088852652026-09-08: 433412.978118142026-09-09: 428464.449480062026-09-10: 422019.567787692026-09-11: 419788.103020952026-09-12: 417596.848461572026-09-13: 417460.306362142026-09-14: 417057.623856662026-09-15: 415462.928695272026-09-16: 414819.326677132026-09-17: 412920.179579162026-09-18: 411085.554084542026-09-19: 410230.957775242026-09-21: 393511.880304682026-09-22: 392529.625148182026-09-23: 384647.872529292026-09-24: 383911.014829042026-09-25: 383665.802591962026-09-26: 381571.046709182026-09-27: 379809.949899032026-09-28: 379674.072485132026-09-29: 379480.648137252026-09-30: 378875.323186732026-10-01: 378690.499466292026-10-03: 377412.56593745

Sapling Balance

476,886.2599 ZEC

Observed · ZecStats

2026-09-04: 521198.924923842026-09-05: 520928.129092922026-09-06: 520685.416565992026-09-07: 516906.590283692026-09-08: 516854.396636582026-09-09: 514051.4185172026-09-10: 513392.530183462026-09-11: 511644.976102262026-09-12: 511586.576865942026-09-13: 511554.120405042026-09-14: 511398.048609822026-09-15: 511547.209313782026-09-16: 511507.32813022026-09-17: 512235.58173572026-09-18: 512037.362581132026-09-19: 507328.571780642026-09-21: 504238.15638472026-09-22: 503175.591054892026-09-23: 502834.194802512026-09-24: 504461.230883222026-09-25: 502507.000135762026-09-26: 502357.854675172026-09-27: 502329.994166282026-09-28: 502379.536323752026-09-29: 480326.20546672026-09-30: 478714.529701052026-10-01: 478570.117943112026-10-03: 476886.25994204
Shielded Dashboard →Shielded Supply Chart →Pool Balance Chart →

Related Research

Zcash vs Monero →Zcash vs Bitcoin →Privacy models compared →Zcash Wallet Directory →

FAQ

Is every Zcash transaction private?

No. Transparent transfers are publicly visible. A shielded transaction protects different financial details, so check the actual transfer type rather than the Zcash label alone.

Can shielded Zcash be traced?

Shielded transactions do not expose the same sender, recipient and amount information as transparent transfers. That does not mean wallet behavior, endpoint records or deliberate disclosure cannot reveal information.

What is a viewing key?

A viewing key gives scoped access to shielded payment information without granting the same authority as a spending key. Incoming and full viewing keys reveal different information.

Which Zcash wallets support shielded transactions?

Zodl, Zingo and Edge publish shielded-wallet descriptions. Check the wallet directory for platform, pool-specific support and current maintenance notices; a shielded label does not prove Ironwood support in every release.

What is the difference between transparent and shielded ZEC?

They are the same native asset held or transferred through different accounting and transaction forms. Transparent financial information is publicly visible; shielded forms protect it using the relevant shielded protocol.

Sources and Methodology

Data calculation and update times

Shielded total includes Sprout, Sapling, Orchard and Ironwood. The percentage divides that total by source-reported issued supply from the same observation. ZecStats is a third-party provider, not this site's own node.

Source observation: 2026-10-03T09:53:43.533Z. Collected: 2026-10-03T09:54:04.596Z. Dataset publication: 2026-10-03T09:54:04.662Z. Missing or invalid observations are never interpolated.

Full methodology →