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Zcash 4.0.0
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===========
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What is Zcash?
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--------------
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[Zcash ](https://z.cash/ ) is an implementation of the "Zerocash" protocol.
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Based on Bitcoin's code, Zcash intends to offer a far higher standard of privacy
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through a sophisticated zero-knowledge proving scheme that preserves
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confidentiality of transaction metadata. More technical details are available
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in our [Protocol Specification ](https://github.com/zcash/zips/raw/master/protocol/protocol.pdf ).
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This software is the Zcash client. It downloads and stores the entire history
of Zcash transactions; depending on the speed of your computer and network
connection, the synchronization process could take a day or more once the
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blockchain has reached a significant size.
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#### :lock: Security Warnings
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See important security warnings on the
[Security Information page ](https://z.cash/support/security/ ).
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**Zcash is experimental and a work in progress.** Use it at your own risk.
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#### :ledger: Deprecation Policy
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This release is considered deprecated 16 weeks after the release day. There
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is an automatic deprecation shutdown feature which will halt the node some
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time after this 16-week period. The automatic feature is based on block
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height.
## Getting Started
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Please see our [user guide ](https://zcash.readthedocs.io/en/latest/rtd_pages/rtd_docs/user_guide.html ) for joining the main Zcash network.
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### Need Help?
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* :blue_book: See the documentation at the [ReadTheDocs ](https://zcash.readthedocs.io )
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for help and more information.
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* :incoming_envelope: Ask for help on the [Zcash ](https://forum.z.cash/ ) forum.
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* :speech_balloon: Chat with our support community on [Discord ](https://discordapp.com/channels/669694001464737815/671029188353851393/ )
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Participation in the Zcash project is subject to a
[Code of Conduct ](code_of_conduct.md ).
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### Building
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Build Zcash along with most dependencies from source by running the following command:
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```
./zcutil/build.sh -j$(nproc)
```
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Currently, Zcash is only officially supported on Debian and Ubuntu. See the [Debian / Ubuntu build ](https://zcash.readthedocs.io/en/latest/rtd_pages/Debian-Ubuntu-build.html ) for detailed instructions.
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License
-------
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For license information see the file [COPYING ](COPYING ).