TL;DR
- Ycash officially launched at Zcash block height 570,000 on July 18, 2019, as the network’s first “friendly fork”
- All Zcash holders at the time of the fork automatically received an equal amount of Ycash
- The new chain reduces the Founders Reward from 20% to a perpetual 5% and redirects funds to a nonprofit foundation
- Ycash plans to change its Proof of Work algorithm to enable mining on consumer CPUs and GPUs
- The Electric Coin Company, Zcash’s creator, stated it does not endorse or support the fork
The Zcash ecosystem experienced a significant milestone on July 18, 2019, as the Ycash Foundation officially launched Ycash — the first-ever “friendly fork” of the Zcash blockchain. The fork occurred at block height 570,000, and every Zcash holder at the moment of the split received an identical amount of Ycash tokens, requiring only possession of their private keys to claim the new coins.
What Is Ycash and Why Did It Fork?
Ycash emerged from a philosophical disagreement within the Zcash community about the direction of the project. The newly formed nonprofit Ycash Foundation positioned the fork as a return to two foundational promises that its creators believed were at risk: mining on commodity hardware and a strict cap on the Founders Reward.
The Zcash Founders Reward originally allocated 20% of all mined coins to founders, investors, and the Electric Coin Company. Ycash’s creators argued that this reward structure, combined with the growing dominance of specialized mining hardware, was undermining the fair distribution of coins — a principle they consider essential for long-term adoption.
At launch, Ycash implemented two key changes. First, the Founders Reward rate was reduced from 20% to a perpetual 5%, which the foundation says exactly preserves the original 2.1 million coin cap on the reward. Second, all remaining Founders Reward funds were redirected entirely to the Ycash Foundation, a newly created nonprofit entity tasked with stewarding the project’s development.
A Commitment to Decentralized Mining
Perhaps the most ambitious change planned for Ycash is a shift in its Proof of Work algorithm. At the time of the fork, Zcash used the Equihash algorithm, which had become increasingly dominated by application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), effectively locking out everyday users with consumer hardware.
The Ycash Foundation committed to implementing a mining algorithm more conducive to commodity hardware — including standard CPUs and GPUs. Approaches under evaluation included RandomX, ProgPOW, and various modified versions of Equihash. The foundation stated this change would ideally be implemented by late October 2019, around the time of Zcash’s Blossom upgrade.
This commitment to accessible mining was paired with a broader set of founding principles. Ycash pledged to preserve the 21 million coin cap on total supply, maintain pure Proof of Work mining until at least the second block reward halving — by which point 75% of all coins would have been mined — and never differentially timelock coins.
The Electric Coin Company’s Stance
The relationship between Ycash and the Electric Coin Company (ECC), the creators of Zcash, was cordial but clearly bounded. On July 12, 2019, just days before the fork, the ECC released a statement acknowledging Ycash as a “friendly fork” while explicitly stating they do not support or endorse the new chain. The Ycash project, for its part, emphasized its complete independence from both the ECC and the Zcash Foundation.
Despite the divergence, Ycash planned to continue leveraging Zcash’s technological backbone. The project committed to incorporating most changes made to Zcash, particularly advancements in zero-knowledge proof infrastructure. Only in areas of substantial disagreement would Ycash chart its own course.
Market Context
The fork occurred amid a broader crypto market rally on July 18, 2019. Bitcoin was trading at approximately $10,666, up nearly 10% in 24 hours, while Zcash was priced around $79.60, up roughly 5.7% on the day. The total cryptocurrency market was experiencing renewed optimism following a prolonged bear market, with major altcoins posting significant gains across the board.
ZecWallet, the primary user-facing wallet for Zcash, was also forked to support Ycash, with official builds provided for all supported platforms. The Ycash Foundation also began the process of trademark registration, starting in the United States with plans for additional jurisdictions.
Why This Matters
Ycash represents one of the earliest examples of a “friendly fork” in the cryptocurrency space — a chain split motivated not by acrimony or contested governance, but by genuine philosophical differences about how a blockchain should serve its community. The project’s focus on restoring commodity hardware mining and capping developer rewards speaks to a persistent tension in crypto between professionalization and decentralization. While Ycash’s long-term impact remains to be seen, its July 2019 launch highlights the ongoing debate within privacy coin communities about who gets to mine, who gets paid, and who ultimately controls a blockchain’s direction.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.