Zcash Shielded-Transaction Setup Guide
Zcash has transparent and shielded value pools. Transparent transfers expose transaction details. Fully shielded transfers within one shielded pool conceal the sender, recipient, and amount from public chain observers.
The wallet and address path decide which mode you use. A shielded wallet cannot erase records created by an exchange, swap service, payment processor, or an earlier transparent transfer.
- legacy transparent address prefixes
- t1 / t3
- Warning
- Zcash address documentation
- Unified Address prefix on mainnet
- u1
- Confirmed
- Orchard address specification
- current shielded pools: Sapling and Orchard
- 2
- Confirmed
- Zcash protocol specification
Use a current shielded wallet
Zodl, formerly Zashi, is a self-custody mobile wallet maintained for shielded ZEC. Install it only from the links on the official Zodl site. Check the listed developer before installing.
- Create a new wallet.
- Write the recovery phrase offline. Anyone with it can spend the wallet.
- Let the wallet scan the chain before treating the displayed balance as final.
- Open Receive and use the address labelled Zcash Shielded Address.
Current Zodl releases rotate shielded-only Unified Addresses on the Receive screen. They begin with u1. The prefix alone is not proof that every Unified Address from every wallet has the same composition. The Orchard address specification defines the prefix, while Unified Addresses can encode different receivers.
Receive without falling back to transparent mode
Give the sender your shielded address first. If a wallet or exchange rejects it, that service does not support the required receiver. Using its transparent fallback makes the transfer public. The sender or exchange may also retain your account, amount, destination, IP address, and timing in its own records.
A KYC withdrawal does not become anonymous when it reaches a shielded address. The exchange still knows who requested the withdrawal. Shielding limits what a public chain observer can see after the transfer.
Understand what the chain reveals
Zcash shielded notes use commitments, nullifiers, encryption, and zero-knowledge proofs. The chain can validate a spend without publishing the note it consumed or the recipient's shielded address. The current Zcash protocol specification describes those properties.
Crossing between a transparent pool and a shielded pool reveals the transferred value. A transparent input also exposes its prior history. Timing, repeated amounts, wallet-server traffic, and records held by counterparties can narrow the practical privacy set even when later transfers stay shielded.
Shield transparent ZEC carefully
If ZEC already sits at a transparent address in your wallet, use the wallet's shielding action. Confirm that the destination is the wallet's shielded balance before approving it. The shielding transaction does not remove the old address or amount from the chain.
Avoid sending the same distinctive amount out of the shielded pool soon afterwards. That can support timing and amount guesses. There is no universal waiting period that guarantees unlinkability.
Send from the shielded balance
- Paste or scan the recipient address.
- Check the address type and the wallet's privacy warning.
- Review the amount and fee.
- Keep funds inside one shielded pool when the recipient supports it.
A transfer to a transparent address reveals the recipient and amount. A transfer between shielded pools also reveals the value crossing between them. The wallet may allow these paths for compatibility, but compatibility is not full privacy.
Flexa is an optional processor
Zodl can send shielded ZEC through Flexa at supported US retail locations. Flexa's original Zashi integration announcement says the merchant receives its chosen currency and does not receive the customer's original payment details.
Flexa requires registration and processes the payment. Treat it as a separate service with its own records and legal duties, not as a direct peer-to-peer shielded transfer.
Keep the wallet updated
Protocol and wallet updates matter. In June 2026, Zcash developers deployed an emergency network upgrade for a soundness bug in the Orchard pool. The remediation report says Orchard transfers resumed after fixed node and mobile SDK releases, with no evidence of exploitation or privacy loss. Use the current wallet release rather than an old installation package.
Operational checklist
- Install Zodl from its official site.
- Store the recovery phrase offline.
- Use the rotating shielded receive address.
- Reject transparent fallbacks when the public record matters.
- Keep transfers within one shielded pool where possible.
- Account for exchange, swap, wallet-server, and payment-processor records.
- Install security and network-upgrade releases promptly.
For the different defaults and trade-offs, read Zcash vs Monero: Privacy Compared.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between shielded and transparent Zcash?
Transparent Zcash exposes transaction details on the public chain. A fully shielded transfer within one shielded pool conceals the sender, recipient, and amount from public chain observers. Transfers between transparent and shielded pools reveal the value crossing between pools.
Is every address beginning with u1 shielded?
The u1 prefix identifies a Unified Address, not one fixed receiver type. A Unified Address can contain multiple receiver types. Current Zodl versions present rotating shielded-only Unified Addresses on the Receive screen, but other wallets may compose them differently.
Does shielding erase an earlier transparent transaction?
No. The transparent address, amount, and timing remain public. Shielding protects later activity inside the shielded pool, subject to information revealed by future transfers and external records held by services you use.
Can Zodl spend shielded ZEC through Flexa?
Zodl, formerly Zashi, includes an optional Flexa integration for supported US retail locations. Flexa requires registration and processes the payment, so this is not the same privacy model as a direct shielded payment to a merchant.