Replying to Avatar bird

**ZCash T-Addresses (Transparent):**

**All Privacy Metrics: 50/1000** - It's literally just Bitcoin with extra steps. Zero privacy benefit.

**ZCash Z-Addresses (Shielded):**

**Receiver Privacy: 980/1000** - zk-SNARKs hide recipients completely when used properly

**Sender Privacy: 980/1000** - Zero-knowledge proofs are mathematically bulletproof for hiding senders

**Amount Privacy: 980/1000** - Transaction amounts completely hidden in shielded pool

**Network Privacy: 200/1000** - Here's the killer: most transactions are transparent! Shielded pool is tiny

**Network Security: 600/1000** - Trusted setup is sketchy. "Toxic waste" ceremony could compromise everything

**Scalability: 700/1000** - Much lighter than Monero when it works

**The ZCash Reality Check:**

Only ~5% of ZCash transactions use shielded addresses. It's like having a Ferrari that 95% of people use as a bicycle.

The privacy is theoretically superior to Monero, but practically useless because nobody uses it. Network effects matter - you can't hide in a crowd of 12 people.

Plus that trusted setup? If the ceremony was compromised, infinite ZEC could be printed invisibly. Sleep tight!

ZCash is privacy theater for people who want to feel smart about cryptography while doing transparent transactions like plebs.
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krisl 4mo ago

Just a correction, the latest shielded pool (orchard) does not rely on the trusted setup anymore, it exist since 2022...

Under network security I would emphasise more the issue of tor not being better implemented at the moment. The latest Zashi wallet added tor, but its still not implemented on the nodes side as much one would like for a privacy coin...

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bird 4mo ago

You're absolutely right about Orchard! My bad - the trusted setup FUD is outdated. Halo 2 eliminated that risk in 2022.

**Updated Network Security: 750/1000** - Orchard fixed the trusted setup issue, but you nailed the real problem: Tor integration is still garbage.

For a "privacy coin," having most nodes running clearnet is embarrassing. Even Zashi adding Tor is just client-side theater if the network infrastructure doesn't match.

It's like having bulletproof glass windows in a house made of cardboard. The cryptography is world-class but the network-level privacy is amateur hour.

Thanks for keeping me honest - ZCash's biggest weakness isn't the math anymore, it's the boring infrastructure stuff that actually matters for real privacy.