Shielded vs Transparent Zcash Addresses for Sellers

A transparent Zcash address (starting with t1 or t3) works like a Bitcoin address: every payment to it, with its amount and sender, is visible on the public blockchain. A shielded address hides all three. For a seller, that difference decides whether your sales history is public. Today, the address to use is a unified address (starting with u1) that contains a shielded receiver: it keeps your payments private and still works with almost every wallet.

This article explains the address types you will meet, what each one reveals, and how to check that the address you give buyers is the right one. If you are new to trading in ZEC, start with our guide on how to buy and sell things with Zcash.

The Zcash address types at a glance

Zcash has had several address formats over the years, because it has had several shielded protocols. You only need to recognise them by their first characters:

Starts with	Type	Pool	What the blockchain shows
t1… / t3…	Transparent (P2PKH / P2SH)	Transparent	Sender, receiver and amount, like Bitcoin
zs1…	Sapling shielded address	Sapling	Nothing about sender, receiver or amount
u1…	Unified address	Orchard, Sapling and/or transparent	Depends on the receiver the payer's wallet uses
zc…	Sprout shielded address (legacy)	Sprout	Retired; do not use

Sprout was the first shielded protocol, launched in 2016. Sapling replaced it in 2018 with much faster proofs, which made shielded payments practical on phones. Orchard, activated with the NU5 network upgrade in 2022, is the current shielded protocol and needs no trusted setup.

What a transparent address reveals

A transparent address is a public account. Once someone links it to you, for example because you posted it in a listing, they can see:

• every payment you have received, with the date and the amount,
• the addresses that paid you, and so who your other customers are,
• where you moved the money afterwards.

For a seller, that means your revenue, your prices and your customer list are public to anyone who cares to look. It also exposes your buyers: anyone watching your address learns what they paid and when. That is why ZecMarket refuses transparent addresses for receiving payments.

What a shielded address protects

When ZEC moves from one shielded address to another, the transaction is still verified by every node, but its contents are encrypted. Observers can see that a shielded transaction happened and the fee it paid. They cannot see the sender, the receiver or the amount.

Shielded payments also carry an encrypted memo of up to 512 bytes, visible only to the receiver. Marketplaces use it to match payments to orders: on ZecMarket, the memo is ZB- followed by the order number.

Two limits are worth knowing:

• Privacy is strongest when both sides are shielded. If a buyer pays from a transparent address into your shielded one, the blockchain shows the amount leaving the buyer's transparent address. Your side stays private, but theirs does not.
• Your wallet's view key can reveal everything. A viewing key lets someone see your incoming payments. Only share it on purpose, for example with an accountant.

Unified addresses: one address for every wallet

A unified address, defined in ZIP 316, bundles several "receivers" into a single string starting with u1. A typical wallet's unified address contains an Orchard receiver, often a Sapling receiver, and sometimes a transparent one.

The payer's wallet picks the receiver itself. The specification says the sender must use "the Receiver of the most preferred Receiver Type that it supports", with Orchard first, then Sapling, then transparent. In practice:

• a modern wallet pays your Orchard receiver, fully shielded,
• an older wallet that only knows Sapling pays your Sapling receiver, still shielded,
• you do not have to give buyers two different addresses.

Does a unified address with a transparent receiver leak anything?

It can. If your unified address includes a transparent receiver, a wallet that only supports transparent payments may use it, and that payment is public. For selling, the safest choice is a shielded-only unified address, with Orchard and/or Sapling receivers but no transparent one. Many wallets let you create one; some call it a "shielded address" or let you choose which receivers to include.

ZecMarket checks every receiving address when you save it: it must be a unified address (u1…) with a shielded receiver.

Which address should a seller use?

Use a unified address with a shielded receiver, and ideally without a transparent one. Here is how the options compare for selling:

Option	Privacy for you	Works with	Verdict
Transparent t1…	None	Every wallet and exchange	Avoid for selling
Sapling zs1…	Full	Shielded wallets	Older format; ZecMarket asks for a unified address
Unified u1… with a transparent receiver	Usually full, not always	Every wallet	Acceptable
Unified u1…, shielded only	Full	Shielded wallets	Best choice

How to check your address

1. Open your wallet's "Receive" screen.
2. Look at the first characters. u1 means unified; zs1 means Sapling; t1 or t3 means transparent.
3. If your wallet shows several addresses, pick the one labelled "shielded" or "unified".
4. Paste it into your ZecMarket settings. ZecMarket accepts unified addresses with a shielded receiver; a transparent address, or an older Sapling-only zs1 address, is refused. Most wallets can show you a u1 address instead.

Should I use a new address for each sale?

Many wallets can generate a fresh unified address whenever you ask, all spending from the same balance. Because shielded payments do not reveal the receiver, reusing one shielded address is far less risky than reusing a transparent one. A new address per buyer still helps if you worry about buyers comparing notes, and it costs nothing.

Common mistakes sellers make

• Pasting an exchange deposit address. Exchange deposit addresses are often transparent, and the exchange may not credit memos or shielded deposits correctly. Receive into your own wallet.
• Shielding later. Moving funds from a transparent address into the shielded pool afterwards does not hide the payments that already reached the transparent address.
• Sharing the viewing key by accident. Some wallets export it next to the address. An address is safe to share; a key is not.
• Ignoring the memo. Without the memo, matching a payment to an order is guesswork. Check for it before you deliver.

Frequently asked questions

Is a shielded Zcash payment slower or more expensive?

No. Since Sapling and Orchard, a shielded transaction takes seconds to create on a phone, and the fee follows the same rules as a transparent one.

Can a buyer pay a shielded address from an exchange?

Some exchanges support withdrawals to unified or Sapling addresses; others only send to transparent addresses. If a buyer's exchange cannot send to your address, they should withdraw to their own shielded wallet first. Our guide to paying with a Zcash payment link or QR code covers this from the buyer's side.

Why did ZecMarket refuse my address?

It was probably transparent (t1…), an older Sapling-only address (zs1…), or a unified address with no shielded receiver. ZecMarket only accepts unified addresses that receive privately, to protect both sellers and buyers. The FAQ explains why.

Next steps

Set your shielded receiving address in your settings, then post your first listing. If you have not created an account yet, it takes a minute: sign up with a username and a password, add your PGP key, and you are ready to sell on ZecMarket.