Company: ZCSH
Filing Date: 2025-03-07
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-035469
Chunk: 60

Company: Grayscale Zcash Trust (ZEC)
Filing Date: 2025-03-07
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 60
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ing” process. Although ECC does not control the Zcash Network, it monitors the development of the Zcash Network and offers updates to the ZEC protocol which the public may choose to implement or ignore. ECC does not sell, exchange, transmit or retain custody of ZEC for consumers or the public at large. The value of ZEC is determined by the supply of and demand for ZEC on the Digital Asset Trading Platforms or in private end-user-to-end-user transactions.

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Similar to the Bitcoin network, the Zcash Network operates on a proof-of-work model. New ZEC are created and rewarded to the miners of a block in the Zcash Blockchain for verifying transactions. The Zcash Blockchain is effectively a decentralized database that includes all blocks that have been solved by miners and it is updated to include new blocks as they are solved. Each ZEC transaction is broadcast to the Zcash Network and, when included in a block, recorded in the Zcash Blockchain. As each new block records outstanding ZEC transactions, and outstanding transactions are settled and validated through such recording, the Zcash Blockchain represents a complete, transparent and unbroken history of all transactions of the Zcash Network. For further details, see “—Creation of New ZEC.”

Similar to Bitcoin, ZEC can be used to pay for goods and services or can be converted to fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, at rates determined on digital asset trading platforms or in individual end-user-to-end-user transactions under a barter system. Additionally, ZEC is used to pay for transaction fees to miners for verifying transactions on the Zcash Network.

Overview of the Zcash Network’s Operations 

In order to own, transfer or use ZEC directly on the Zcash Network, as opposed to through an intermediary, such as a custodian, a person generally must have internet access to connect to the Zcash Network. ZEC transactions may be made directly between end-users without the need for a third-party intermediary. To prevent the possibility of double-spending ZEC, a user must notify the Zcash Network of the transaction by broadcasting certain transaction data to its network peers. The Zcash Network provides confirmation against double-spending by memorializing transactions in the Zcash Blockchain, in the case of public transactions, or through zero-knowledge proofs (i.e., zk-SNARKs) in the case of private transactions. This memorialization and verification against double-spending is accomplished through the Zcash Network mining process, which adds “blocks” of data, including certain