Ycash is borderless digital cash — private by design, capped in supply, and built to be owned by the many rather than the few. Here's what it is, and why it exists.
Ycash is a digital currency, in the same family as Bitcoin and Zcash. Its software is built on the Zcash codebase — which is itself built on Bitcoin — so it inherits years of battle-tested engineering rather than starting from scratch.
It also shares real history with Zcash: the first 570,000 blocks of the Ycash blockchain are identical to the first 570,000 blocks of Zcash. Ycash branched off on its own path from there, on 18 July 2019.
Like Bitcoin and Zcash, the total supply of Ycash is capped forever at 21 million coins. Unlike government-issued cash, there's no one who can simply print more — so inflation can't quietly erode what you hold.
Bitcoin was revolutionary — but it left two big things unsolved. Ycash is a direct response to both.
On Bitcoin, every transaction is visible to the entire world — who paid whom, and exactly how much. Zcash introduced a breakthrough fix for this, and because Ycash is built on Zcash, it inherits that same privacy technology.
On Bitcoin, the ongoing release of new coins through mining is dominated by makers of specialised hardware and their partners. Ycash pushes back — by pursuing mining on everyday commodity hardware, and periodically changing its mining algorithm to keep it that way.
A core feature of Ycash. Here's the difference between an ordinary blockchain transaction and a shielded one.
The result is something closer to physical cash: you can pay a merchant without raising your risk of identity theft, and transact with friends and family without broadcasting it to outsiders.
Ycash upholds a promise that originated with Zcash: that the vast majority of coins should reach people through mining — not insiders.
Here's how the numbers work. Starting at block 570,000, 5% of newly issued coins go to the Ycash Development Fund to support ongoing work. That leaves 90% of the full 21 million supply to be earned by users through open, free-market mining.
And because Ycash deliberately targets everyday hardware — rather than letting specialised mining rigs take over — that process stays open to ordinary people. Mining is one of the most important ways people take part in a currency's community, and Ycash works to keep that door open.
Key facts about Ycash, compared with Bitcoin.
| Ycash | Bitcoin | |
|---|---|---|
| Supply cap | 21 million | 21 million |
| Current supply (approx.) | 13.6 million | 19.3 million |
| Project launch | 2019 | 2009 |
| Date of genesis block | 2016 | 2009 |
| Originating blockchain | Zcash | Not applicable |
| Fork date | July 18, 2019 | Not applicable |
| Fork block height | 570,000 | Not applicable |
| Current block size limit | 2 MB | 1 MB |
| Target block spacing | 1.25 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Ticker symbol | YEC | BTC |
| Current block reward | 1.5625 YEC | 3.125 BTC |
| Block reward allocated to miners | 100% | 100% |
| Unencrypted transactions | Yes | Yes |
| Encrypted (shielded) transactions | Yes | No |
Figures such as current supply and block reward change over time as the network grows. Source: Ycash Foundation fact sheet.
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Ycash