Zcash after a swap, shield your coins in your own wallet
Swaps usually send ZEC to transparent addresses. How to move it into the shielded pool for real privacy.
Zcash has two worlds. Transparent addresses, starting with t, work like Bitcoin and everything is public. Shielded addresses hide sender, receiver and amount. Modern wallets also show unified addresses starting with u1, which bundle both kinds into one.
Why swaps arrive transparent
Instant swaps send and receive Zcash on transparent addresses. That is how the exchange side works, not a limit of your wallet. It means the coins you receive are visible on chain until you move them.
Shield them yourself
- Use a wallet that supports shielding, such as Zashi or YWallet.
- Give the swap your wallet transparent address as the destination.
- When the ZEC arrives, use the wallet shield function to move it into the shielded pool.
- From then on, spend from the shielded balance.
The step from transparent to shielded is visible, because the transparent side is public. What happens inside the shielded pool afterwards is not.
Small habits
- Do not shield the exact amount and spend the exact same amount right away. Let it sit.
- Use a fresh transparent address for each swap.
See the Zcash page for live rates.
Quick answers
Why not receive straight into a shielded address?
Swaps send to transparent t addresses. Receive to a t address and shield it yourself.
Is transparent Zcash private?
No. Transparent ZEC works like Bitcoin. Anyone can see amounts and addresses. Privacy starts once the coins are in the shielded pool.
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