The Zcash Sapling network upgrade got activated today. Representatives of the project announced a successful hard fork in the official twitter account.
Success! We’re happy to announce that the #Zcash Sapling network upgrade activated today at block height 419200. #Sapling introduces new #shielded addresses with significantly improved performance. Learn more: https://t.co/IGoqNdlz3N pic.twitter.com/6VpKcMteCa
— Zcash Company (@zcashco) October 29, 2018
Zcash representatives say that Sapling activation is, in fact, the second birthday of cryptocurrency, because it makes the project a step closer to mass adoption as an open and confidential payment system.
The update is activated at block 419200. Sapling introduces new shielded addresses. It allows Zcash to significantly improve the performance of the blockchain. After hard fork, the transaction construction time will be reduced by 90%, the amount of memory consumed by more than 97%. The protocol activation also enhances the security of transactions, and makes the system closer to the proliferation of an open and private payment system, Zcash developers say.
“Currently, funds cannot be transferred from legacy shielded addresses to the new Sapling shielded addresses without revealing amounts. This allows us to audit the monetary base of ZEC held in shielded addresses. We are developing a tool to automate the migration of funds in a way that allows users to minimize the impact on their privacy. We recommend that users wait for the release of this tool, if feasible,” explained the representatives of the project.
The upgrade brings improved efficiency for constructing zk-SNARKS, the Zero Knowledge Proofs that are required to perform the privacy functionality that set Zcash and forked projects apart. Before the upgrade, it took even the fastest computer several minutes to create the zk-SNARKS. With the Sapling this time will be reduced to under a few seconds.
It is worth noting that over the past year Zcash has fallen dramatically in price. Cryptocurrency developers continue to improve the system and strive to make transactions more confidential. However, not all countries support such initiatives. For example, the South Korean government banned trading anonymous cryptocurrencies and the exchanges had to remove such coins. On the other hand, former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden separately mentioned Zcash, calling it the most interesting alternative to bitcoin.
Zcash also ran into an ASIC-miners problem. The University of Luxembourg has published data indicating that four miner pools control 88% of the Zсash mining hashrate. The developers of anonymous cryptocurrency said that opposition to ASIC-miners is a technological priority.
News about the upcoming hard fork has not yet had a positive effect on the cost of altcoin. In the anticipation of an update, the cost of cryptocurrency dropped to the minimum values of the week. Now Zcash is trading at $117. However, it can be assumed that a successful implementation can lead to a subsequent rate increase.
For example, a surge in value against the news of an upgrade was observed in another anonymous cryptocurrency, Monero. The project successfully launched the Bulletproofs protocol with a similar goal to significantly reduce the bulkiness of anonymous transactions and speed up their passage through the network.
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