Why Privacy
Cash was always private. A public ledger flipped that default. If your money has a leaderboard, it isn’t yours.
zcash.school
Private money, explained from scratch. Enrollment is open, attendance is anonymous.
🛡️ At Network School? Start here → Scanned a banner QR? Get a wallet in 60s, find the next event, meet the team.
🪙 Claim $5 in ZEC + the newsletter → One short form: your u1 address and your email. ZEC within 24h. We email when the shielded newsletter ships.
How ZK Works
Zero-knowledge proofs let you prove a statement is true without revealing why. Chainalysis hates this one weird trick.
Send Your First Shielded Transaction
Pick a wallet, get a unified address, and shield every last ZEC. Concrete steps, no jargon.
Syllabus
Section titled “Syllabus”Completeness. Soundness. Zero-knowledge. Vibes.
This is a free, opinionated, end-to-end course in Zcash: the privacy-preserving cryptocurrency that uses zero-knowledge proofs to keep transaction amounts and parties private by default. We assume nothing. By the end you’ll understand:
- Why financial privacy matters and what Bitcoin gave up
- How zero-knowledge proofs work, including zk-SNARKs and the trustless Halo 2 system
- How Zcash structures addresses, pools, notes, and nullifiers, and where it’s headed with Project Tachyon
- How to actually use Zcash, wallets, shielded transactions, selective disclosure, and accepting it in your business
- The orgs, governance process, and economics of the network
Who this is for
Section titled “Who this is for”Curious newcomers, Bitcoin holders who looked at their public balance and felt weird, developers who want a solid mental model before reading the spec, journalists or policy folks who need accurate primary-source material on how shielded money works, and anyone who has ever typed the words “encrypted Bitcoin” in a chat and meant it as a compliment.
Field trip to the shielded pool 🛡️
Section titled “Field trip to the shielded pool 🛡️”Reading lessons is one thing. Sending your first shielded transaction is another. Once you’ve worked through the protocol module, jump to Your First Shielded Transaction and actually do it. The fee is fractions of a cent. The vibe is immaculate.