<p>Zerocoin is a proposed extension on Bitcoin to make Bitcoin more private. Zerocoin only hides the origin of a payment, the destination and amounts are still public.</p>

<p>Zerocash is a further extension of the zerocoin protocol which hides the destination and amounts. Zerocash transactions are more compact than zerocoin transactions.</p>

<p>Zcash is an implementation of the zerocash protocol onto a new altcoin. Both Zerocoin and Zerocash were intended for extensions to Bitcoin (they would require a fork). However zcash is just an altcoin (it began as a software fork of Bitcoin) with the zerocash protocol on top.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-12T13:42:43.850Z
Thank you. Do you mean `Zcash` and `Bitcoin` use the same blockchain? (Since Zcash is an independent coin); Thanks
Questioner
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-12T13:44:05.413Z
No, they use separate blockchains. Zcash is an altcoin which implements the Zerocash protocol.
Ava Chow
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-20T11:54:09.487Z
A bit off-topic: for anonymity features of ZCash, see also https://crypto.stackexchange.com/a/64281/36884
logi-kal
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-12T13:35:34.490Z
2018-09-12T13:35:34.490Z
Ava Chow
<p>what is the main difference between <strong>Zerocoin</strong> vs. <strong>Zerocash</strong> ?  are they the same ? Or two different protocols ? If they are two different protocols, what are similarities ?</p>

<privacy><confidential-transactions><zero-knowledge><zerocoin>
Zerocoin vs. Zerocash ? are they the same ? Or two different protocols?
Questioner
# Zerocoin vs. Zerocash ? are they the same ? Or two different protocols?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-09-12)

what is the main difference between **Zerocoin** vs. **Zerocash** ? are they the same ? Or two different protocols ? If they are two different protocols, what are similarities ?

**Tags:** privacy, confidential-transactions, zero-knowledge, zerocoin


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-09-12. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

Zerocoin is a proposed extension on Bitcoin to make Bitcoin more private. Zerocoin only hides the origin of a payment, the destination and amounts are still public.

Zerocash is a further extension of the zerocoin protocol which hides the destination and amounts. Zerocash transactions are more compact than zerocoin transactions.

Zcash is an implementation of the zerocash protocol onto a new altcoin. Both Zerocoin and Zerocash were intended for extensions to Bitcoin (they would require a fork). However zcash is just an altcoin (it began as a software fork of Bitcoin) with the zerocash protocol on top.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you. Do you mean `Zcash` and `Bitcoin` use the same blockchain? (Since Zcash is an independent coin); Thanks  
> **username_1**: No, they use separate blockchains. Zcash is an altcoin which implements the Zerocash protocol.  
> **username_2**: A bit off-topic: for anonymity features of ZCash, see also https://crypto.stackexchange.com/a/64281/36884  

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