Restoring Privacy to ZEC on Solana via Encifher

Privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash ZEC$331.21 has recently surged in price, prompting multiple blockchains to integrate the token into their ecosystems.

On Oct. 16, Solana, the world's second-largest smart contract platform, launched wrapped ZEC via the Zolana bridge. However, these wrapped tokens function as standard Solana Program Library (SPL) tokens and do not offer the privacy protections inherent to native Zcash. They are backed 1:1 by native ZEC but do not conceal balances or transaction data.

Encifher addresses this limitation by re-wrapping tokens into encrypted assets like eZEC, enabling private, encrypted swaps on Solana through cutting-edge fully homomorphic encryption (FHE). This technology ensures that sensitive transaction information remains concealed, restoring ZEC’s native privacy on the fast Solana network.

"To truly make ZEC private on Solana, it should be re-wrapped into encrypted assets like eZEC, where balances and transfers are hidden, yet composable with Solana DeFi. That’s how ZEC’s original vision, privacy at the asset level, can actually live on Solana," Encifher's social media handle Encrypto.trade said in a post on X.

Encifher uses powerful encryption to conceal user balances and transfer details on-chain. Transactions are secured and validated through zero-knowledge proofs, while sensitive data remains accessible only to authorized parties using threshold decryption protocols.

This approach encrypts client balances with threshold ElGamal encryption and stores the encrypted data off-chain in a secure data availability layer, while the Solana blockchain handles cryptographic pointers to these balances without exposing the actual values.

Think of EIGama encryption as a treasure chest that opens only when a certain number of trusted friends come together with their own special keys. This means that no single friend can access the chest alone, ensuring added security.

The setup allows users to hold and transfer encrypted ZEC tokens confidentially, effectively transforming Solana’s public blockchain into a privacy-preserving environment that remains fully compatible with decentralized finance applications. The system prevents transaction linkability and address reuse by employing ephemeral accounts that exist for only one transaction lifecycle, making analysis by third parties effectively impossible.

So, with Encifher, Solana users gain a means to reclaim ZEC’s original promise of asset-level privacy on a blockchain known for speed and low cost, bridging the best of both worlds.

Encifher's privacy-preserving features have been implemented on top of Jupiter, Solana's leading decentralized exchange, enabling users to trade encrypted tokens while preserving their privacy.

ZEC's price has surged 380% to $375 this month, CoinDesk data show. Per some observers, the sharp rally has been catalyzed by the impending ZEC halving, the debut of Grayscale ZEC Trust and Hyperliquid listing.