My First Zcash Workbook
Introduction
My First Zcash is an educational workbook created to help new learners, especially young people and beginners in crypto understand the fundamentals of Zcash, financial privacy, digital money, and the systems behind the technology. It was developed by a diverse and passionate group of contributors from across the global Zcash community, combining software development, design, research, education, and privacy advocacy.
This guide provides an overview of the workbookâs core learning arc, divided into nine major sections. It is not a replacement for the book itself but rather, it is a companion resource that summarizes the educational flow and highlights important information for instructors, students, and community educators.
The workbook is freely available for download as a PDF or as an interactive flipbook:
- Outline:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eYWLgvAAHzCpr2b7bZ494FTZAtHqmtRk/view
- Flipbook: https://midd.me/nbp2
- GitHub Repo: https://github.com/massadoptionorg/My-First-Zcash
1. What is Zcash?
This first section introduces readers to the idea of digital cash and why privacy matters in a modern digital society. It compares traditional financial systems with transparent blockchains, highlighting how most public ledgers expose user activity. Zcash is described as a privacy-preserving alternative digital money that allows users to exchange safely without revealing personal financial information.
The workbook emphasises that privacy is not about hiding wrongdoing but protecting regular people from unwarranted exposure, surveillance, and data exploitation. Learners are taken through straightforward examples that show how Zcash was created to give people genuine control over their financial lives and how regular financial transactions reveal more personal information than we realise.
2. Who Built Zcash and Why Does it Exist?
This section explains the origins of Zcash through the lens of scientific research and cryptography. It introduces zero-knowledge proofs specifically "zk-SNARKs" as the breakthrough technology that makes shielded private transactions possible.
The workbook also touches on the history of Zcashâs launch, its founding principles, and the global community that maintains and supports the ecosystem today. The mission is framed around empowering individuals, providing censorship-resistant access to digital money, and advancing privacy technology for everyone.
3. How Zcash Works
This portion breaks down the technical foundations of the Zcash protocol in approachable language. Key concepts include:
- Transparent vs. shielded addresses
- Viewing keys and controlled disclosure
- The role of miners/validators
- How zero-knowledge proofs validate transactions
- How privacy is preserved even while ensuring the network remains decentralized and secure
Diagrams and visual metaphors in the workbook help simplify these concepts for beginners.
4. Using Zcash in Everyday Life
Section four focusses on actual use examples. It shows how someone might send and receive Zcash using mobile wallets, how QR codes ease payments, and how users employ shielded transactions for personal protection, business confidentiality, or cross-border transfers.
Examples show real world situations including tipping artists, transferring money to relatives overseas, supporting NGOs anonymously, or utilising Zcash as a teen's private digital stipend.
5. Building with Zcash
This section highlights how developers, designers, researchers, and educators can build on Zcash. It introduces concepts like:
- Zcash wallets
- Developer SDKs
- Community working groups
- The role of contributors in open-source development
- How Zcash network upgrades improve the protocol
Readers gain a sense of how Zcash evolves over time and how global contributors help expand tools, infrastructure, applications, and educational resources.
6. Security, Safety, and Best Practices
This section teaches foundational digital safety habits:
- Protecting keys and seed phrases
- Avoiding scams
- Understanding custodial vs. non-custodial wallets
- Practicing strong password hygiene
- Avoiding sharing sensitive wallet information publicly
These lessons equip new users with key habits that extend beyond Zcash into general digital life.
7. The Global Zcash Community
The Zcash ecosystem is global, diverse, and community-driven. This section explains how contributors collaborate through open forums, GitHub, Discord, and working groups. It introduces the culture of open-source development, privacy advocacy, and grassroots education.
The workbook also describes the organizations involved in the ecosystem, including nonprofits, foundations, and independent builders who support the network and maintain Zcashâs decentralization and public-good mission.
8. Meet the Creators â âThe Peeps Who Did It!â
This section highlights the talented contributors who made My First Zcash possible. They include:
- Ice (@frostbyte11211) â A high schooler interested in privacy, computers, cryptography, and psychology.
- Pacu (@thecodebuffet) â A longtime Zcash wallet developer, previously at ECC working on SDKs and Light Client technology, now contributing to the ecosystem under a ZCG grant.
- Marek â An engineer at the Zcash Foundation.
- Alfredo Garcia â A Rust systems engineer working on the Zebra team at the Zcash Foundation.
- Pili (@mpguerra) â Engineering Manager at the Zcash Foundation with 20+ years of experience, including work on the Tor Project.
- Zksquirrel â Zcash Arborist, community note taker, and contributor to ZecHubâs education initiatives.
- Tripleyouww â Community Support Coordinator at the Zcash Foundation.
- Mass Adoption Alliance â An initiative empowering youth through education on decentralized cryptocurrencies and financial privacy.
These profiles show readers that Zcash is maintained by a diverse community of engineers, designers, developers, educators, and organizers from across the world.
9. How to Get Involved
The final section invites readers to become part of the Zcash ecosystem. Opportunities include:
- Joining the Zcash Global Discord
- Participating in community calls and working groups
- Contributing to future workbook translations
- Supporting open-source education
- Creating content, code contributions, artwork, or feedback
- Exploring Zcash community grants
The message is clear: anyone can participate, and the community welcomes contributors of all backgrounds and skill levels.
Zcash Global Discord: https://discord.gg/F6DCkCDK
License
My First Zcash is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
License details:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
