Zcash 1.0.0-rc3
===============

What is Zcash?
--------------

[Zcash](https://z.cash/) is an implementation of the "Zerocash" protocol.
Based on Bitcoin's code, it intends to offer a far higher standard of privacy
and anonymity through a sophisticated zero-knowledge proving scheme that
preserves confidentiality of transaction metadata. Technical details are
available in our [Protocol Specification](https://github.com/zcash/zips/raw/master/protocol/protocol.pdf).

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
block chain has reached a significant size.

Security Warnings
-----------------

See important security warnings in
[doc/security-warnings.md](doc/security-warnings.md).

**Zcash is unfinished and highly experimental.** Use at your own risk.

Where do I begin?
-----------------

We have a guide for joining the public testnet:
https://github.com/zcash/zcash/wiki/Beta-Guide

### Need Help?

* See the documentation at the [Zcash Wiki](https://github.com/zcash/zcash/wiki)
  for help and more information.
* Ask for help on the [Zcash](https://forum.z.cash/) forum.

Participation in the Zcash project is subject to a
[Code of Conduct](code_of_conduct.md).

Building
--------

Build Zcash along with most dependencies from source by running
./zcutil/build.sh. Currently only Linux is supported.

License
-------

For license information see the file [COPYING](COPYING).