Zcash users do not use all the features of the coin, the study reveals

     
Researchers at Carnegie University have concluded that the vast majority of ZCash (ZEC) users do not understand how a private coin works/ and thus do not use its full cryptographic potential to the full.

Experts noted that ZEC offers "serious encryption methods", but its holders hardly ever use them. Unlike Zcash, Monero (XMR) developers introduced stricter anonymity requirements, which allowed the asset to maintain a “virtually untraceable” status.

Zcash uses a zero-knowledge evidence method, zk-SNARK. The cryptographic protocol can prevent any interaction between the checker and the transaction verifier, creating a "barrier that further complicates the effort of linking addresses together."

In addition to anonymous transactions, ZEC can also track transactions using aliases. During the 30-day monitored period, the share of the aliases amounted to 99,91%.

Experts noted that users do not take full advantage of the “shielded pool”, which makes them traceable. Each ZEC owner in such a pool becomes associated with a pool of users whose transactions can be monitored, which undermines the overall privacy of the ecosystem.

As a result, the researchers came to the disappointing conclusion that the overwhelming majority of users do not understand the operating model of ZEC/ A small group of ZEC users that employ secure transactions make private cryptocurrency “effectively traceable”.

Similar conclusions were made within Rand Corporation study. The researchers found out that Zcash is less in demand in comparison with other coins popular in darknet marketplaces. Unlike ZEC, XMR provides “untraceability by default”. 

ZCash takes the 26th place in the global cryptocurrency market rating. Its market capitalization is registered at $418 million, while an average daily volume is $194 million. ZCash lost over 3% of its value in the recent 24 hours moving in sync with the market. At the time of writing, it is changing hands at $45.46.

ZEC/USD daily chart