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Blockchain General

Shielded Transaction

A Zcash transaction where sender address, receiver address, and amount are encrypted using zk-SNARKs, providing cryptographic privacy while allowing network nodes to verify validity without learning private details. Shielded transactions operate within dedicated value pools (Sapling or Orchard), each with independent circuit designs. Users can selectively disclose transaction details to third parties using viewing keys without compromising spending authority.

IDshielded-transactionAliasPrivate Transaction (Zcash)
Plain meaning

Plain meaning

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A Zcash transaction where sender address, receiver address, and amount are encrypted using zk-SNARKs, providing cryptographic privacy while allowing network nodes to verify validity without learning private details. Shielded transactions operate within dedicated value pools (Sapling or Orchard), each with independent circuit designs. Users can selectively disclose transaction details to third parties using viewing keys without compromising spending authority.

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Mental model

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Shielded Transaction (shielded-transaction)
Category: Blockchain General
Definition: A Zcash transaction where sender address, receiver address, and amount are encrypted using zk-SNARKs, providing cryptographic privacy while allowing network nodes to verify validity without learning private details. Shielded transactions operate within dedicated value pools (Sapling or Orchard), each with independent circuit designs. Users can selectively disclose transaction details to third parties using viewing keys without compromising spending authority.
Aliases: Private Transaction (Zcash)
Related: Zcash, Viewing Key, Zcash Sapling
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Branch

Zcash

A privacy-focused cryptocurrency launched in October 2016 that pioneered the use of zk-SNARKs to enable fully shielded transactions where sender, receiver, and amount are cryptographically hidden on a public blockchain. Zcash uses a UTXO model derived from Bitcoin and maintains multiple value pools (transparent, Sapling, Orchard) with a turnstile mechanism ensuring supply integrity. Major upgrades include Sapling (2018) for efficient proofs and NU5/Orchard (2022) introducing Halo 2 to eliminate trusted setup.

UTXO Model
Open term
Branch

Viewing Key

A cryptographic key in Zcash enabling selective disclosure of shielded transaction information without granting spending authority. The key hierarchy includes Incoming Viewing Key (IVK) for detecting received payments, Outgoing Viewing Key (OVK) for viewing sent transactions, and Full Viewing Key (FVK) combining both. Viewing keys enable regulatory compliance and auditing by allowing designated third parties to monitor shielded account activity.

Unified Address
Open term
Branch

Zcash Sapling

A major Zcash protocol upgrade activated in October 2018 that reduced proof generation from ~40 seconds to ~2 seconds and memory from 3 GB to ~40 MB, making shielded transactions practical on mobile devices. Sapling introduced new shielded addresses, full viewing keys, diversified addresses, and decoupled proof construction from transaction signing. Its cryptographic libraries (bellman, librustzcash) became foundational for the broader ZK ecosystem.

Turnstile Mechanism
Open term
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Blockchain General

Zcash

A privacy-focused cryptocurrency launched in October 2016 that pioneered the use of zk-SNARKs to enable fully shielded transactions where sender, receiver, and amount are cryptographically hidden on a public blockchain. Zcash uses a UTXO model derived from Bitcoin and maintains multiple value pools (transparent, Sapling, Orchard) with a turnstile mechanism ensuring supply integrity. Major upgrades include Sapling (2018) for efficient proofs and NU5/Orchard (2022) introducing Halo 2 to eliminate trusted setup.

Open term
Blockchain General

Viewing Key

A cryptographic key in Zcash enabling selective disclosure of shielded transaction information without granting spending authority. The key hierarchy includes Incoming Viewing Key (IVK) for detecting received payments, Outgoing Viewing Key (OVK) for viewing sent transactions, and Full Viewing Key (FVK) combining both. Viewing keys enable regulatory compliance and auditing by allowing designated third parties to monitor shielded account activity.

Open term
Blockchain General

Zcash Sapling

A major Zcash protocol upgrade activated in October 2018 that reduced proof generation from ~40 seconds to ~2 seconds and memory from 3 GB to ~40 MB, making shielded transactions practical on mobile devices. Sapling introduced new shielded addresses, full viewing keys, diversified addresses, and decoupled proof construction from transaction signing. Its cryptographic libraries (bellman, librustzcash) became foundational for the broader ZK ecosystem.

Open term
Blockchain General

Slashing

A penalty mechanism in Proof of Stake systems where validators lose a portion of their staked tokens for provable misbehavior (double-signing, extended downtime, invalid attestations). Slashing provides economic disincentive against attacks. Ethereum slashes a minimum of 1/32 of stake; Solana's slashing is planned but not yet enforced on mainnet as of 2025.

Open term
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Blockchain Generalblob-transaction

Blob Transaction (EIP-4844)

An Ethereum transaction type introduced in the Dencun upgrade (March 2024) that carries binary large objects (blobs) of temporary off-chain data. Each blob is 128 KB, committed via KZG polynomial commitments, and stored for ~18 days before pruning. Blob transactions created a separate fee market and reduced Layer 2 rollup fees by 10-100x by providing cheap, temporary data availability.

AliasBlobAliasEIP-4844
Open term
Blockchain Generaltransaction-fee-general

Transaction Fee

The cost paid by the sender to have a transaction processed and included in a block. Fees compensate validators/miners for computation and prevent spam. Fee models vary: Ethereum uses dynamic gas pricing (EIP-1559 base fee + tip), Solana uses base fee (5,000 lamports) + optional priority fee, Bitcoin uses fee-per-byte.

Open term
Blockchain Generalzcash

Zcash

A privacy-focused cryptocurrency launched in October 2016 that pioneered the use of zk-SNARKs to enable fully shielded transactions where sender, receiver, and amount are cryptographically hidden on a public blockchain. Zcash uses a UTXO model derived from Bitcoin and maintains multiple value pools (transparent, Sapling, Orchard) with a turnstile mechanism ensuring supply integrity. Major upgrades include Sapling (2018) for efficient proofs and NU5/Orchard (2022) introducing Halo 2 to eliminate trusted setup.

AliasZEC
Open term
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Blockchain Generalzcash

Zcash

A privacy-focused cryptocurrency launched in October 2016 that pioneered the use of zk-SNARKs to enable fully shielded transactions where sender, receiver, and amount are cryptographically hidden on a public blockchain. Zcash uses a UTXO model derived from Bitcoin and maintains multiple value pools (transparent, Sapling, Orchard) with a turnstile mechanism ensuring supply integrity. Major upgrades include Sapling (2018) for efficient proofs and NU5/Orchard (2022) introducing Halo 2 to eliminate trusted setup.

Open term
Blockchain Generalviewing-key

Viewing Key

A cryptographic key in Zcash enabling selective disclosure of shielded transaction information without granting spending authority. The key hierarchy includes Incoming Viewing Key (IVK) for detecting received payments, Outgoing Viewing Key (OVK) for viewing sent transactions, and Full Viewing Key (FVK) combining both. Viewing keys enable regulatory compliance and auditing by allowing designated third parties to monitor shielded account activity.

Open term
Blockchain Generalzcash-sapling

Zcash Sapling

A major Zcash protocol upgrade activated in October 2018 that reduced proof generation from ~40 seconds to ~2 seconds and memory from 3 GB to ~40 MB, making shielded transactions practical on mobile devices. Sapling introduced new shielded addresses, full viewing keys, diversified addresses, and decoupled proof construction from transaction signing. Its cryptographic libraries (bellman, librustzcash) became foundational for the broader ZK ecosystem.

Open term
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Blockchain General

Blockchain

A distributed, append-only ledger that records transactions in cryptographically linked blocks. Each block contains a hash of the previous block, forming an immutable chain. Nodes in the network maintain copies of the ledger and reach agreement through consensus mechanisms. Blockchains enable trustless, decentralized record-keeping without a central authority.

Open term
Blockchain General

Consensus Mechanism

The protocol by which nodes in a distributed network agree on the current state of the ledger. Common mechanisms include Proof of Work (Bitcoin), Proof of Stake (Ethereum, Solana), and BFT variants. Consensus ensures all honest nodes converge on the same transaction history despite potential network delays or malicious actors.

Open term
Blockchain General

Proof of Stake (PoS)

A consensus mechanism where validators are selected to produce blocks based on the amount of cryptocurrency they have staked (locked) as collateral. PoS is energy-efficient compared to Proof of Work. Misbehaving validators risk losing their stake (slashing). Solana, Ethereum (post-Merge), Cosmos, and Cardano use PoS variants.

Open term
Blockchain General

Proof of Work (PoW)

A consensus mechanism where miners compete to solve computationally expensive puzzles to produce blocks and earn rewards. PoW provides strong security (51% attack resistance) but is energy-intensive. Bitcoin and pre-Merge Ethereum use PoW. The difficulty adjusts to maintain target block times regardless of total network hash power.

Open term