The world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform recently added support for a new currency.
The world’s largest exchanging platforms for cryptocurrencies, Bithumb, announced this week that they have added support for a new cryptocurrency.
South Korea has steadily established itself as the world capital for cryptocurrency activity, despite recent governmental crackdowns on initial coin offerings (ICOs). Bithumb, a South Korean trading platform, unveiled their brand new cryptocurrency, Zcash. This cryptocurrency was created to ensure the privacy of users. Zcash is based on blockchain technology, a public accounting ledger which tracks virtual currencies. This enables users to buy and sell currencies without needing a middle-man, such as a bank. Operating similarly to bitcoin and ether, Zcash consists of a network that is globally distributed in volunteer machines. However, greater anonymity during transactions is allowed with Zcash, as compared to other cryptocurrencies.
Several other cryptocurrency exchanging platforms across the world have already added support for Zcash. The England-based exchange, CEX.io, was one of the first platforms to add support.
Bithumb’s addition of Zcash did not come as a surprise, as several rumors confirmed this leading up to the announcement on Tuesday. Many users have anticipated the success of Zcash, as BTCNews reported that the market value of Zcash skyrocketed to 70% which made the value of one Zcash token $400. Since this report, however, the price dropped back down to $240 per Zcash token.
According to David Lim, a global business development manager at Bithumb, several factors are taken into consideration before an exchanging platforms decide to add a new currency. Lim stated that the main concerns for Bithumb were the coin’s security, technology, and investment worth. While Zcash did check all these boxes, its strongest quality lies in its technology.
What sets Zcash apart from other competing cryptocurrencies is its use of "zero-knowledge proofs". This is a cutting-edge cryptography concept which uses mathematical functions to encrypt certain information related to payments. It can encrypt details such as the identity of the payer, payee, as well as the amount paid. However, this new technology is still undergoing testing.
Zcash’s technology addresses multiple concerns that the cryptocurrency community has been raising as of late. The encryption will preserve anonymity and protect users during data breaches. It also solves the issue of fungibility, as all Zcash tokens are treated equally. Furthermore, it limits the possibility of governmental censorship.
Currently, Bithumb offers nine different currencies in which users can trade: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Dash, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Monero, and Zcash. Lim noted that transactions related to Monero and Zcash are increasing quickly.