Known unknown
Another crypto-currency is born
COMPETITION between currencies is the stuff libertarian dreams are made on—and central bankers’ nightmares too. Already digital monies, in particular Bitcoin and Ethereum, are rivals. On October 28th a new crypto-currency will join the fray: Zcash. Many such “altcoins” are dubious affairs and don’t add much. But this one brings important innovations.
Zcash is based on Bitcoin’s code, but its creators, a bunch of cryptography researchers, have tweaked it. The new digital cash is minted more quickly and the system can handle more transactions. This makes for more liquidity and shorter transaction times, says Zooko Wilcox, who leads the project.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline "Known unknown"
More from Finance and economics
At long last, Europe’s economy is starting to grow
Now for the hard part
The property firm that could break China’s back
If Vanke collapses, so might confidence in the state’s management of the economy
Narendra Modi’s flagship growth scheme is off to a sluggish start
Without improvements, it risks wasting trillions of rupees