Shielded Address

A shielded address is an address on the Zcash network, and on some networks derived from it, whose payments are protected by cryptography so that outside observers cannot see the sender, the receiver or the amount. Zcash supports two kinds of address: transparent addresses, which work much like Bitcoin addresses with every transfer visible, and shielded addresses, which keep funds in an encrypted pool. Shielded transfers rely on zk-SNARKs, a type of zero-knowledge proof that lets the network confirm a payment is valid without seeing its details. Owners can share a viewing key so that an auditor or tax adviser can see their shielded activity. Newer Zcash wallets use unified addresses, which bundle shielded and transparent options into one string and default to shielded use. Also see shielded transaction.