ZEC to BTC: swap Zcash to Bitcoin with no KYC
On , our floating quote for 5 ZEC was 0.09413 BTC after a 0.000012 BTC payout fee.
Rate before the payout fee: 1 ZEC ≈ 0.01883 BTC (our calculation from that quote).
No account and no ID to start. Some swaps are held for checks, and residents of some countries may be asked to verify. How screening works
Before you swap
Look at the first letters of the deposit address and decide which balance pays it. A payment to a transparent address makes the amount public, even when it comes from a shielded balance. Add a Zcash refund address that you control, because a deposit from a shielded balance shows no sender on the chain. Your ZEC goes to an address controlled by our liquidity partner until your BTC is sent.
What you get for common amounts
| You send | You get (floating) | Payout fee share | Fixed quote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.041 ZEC | 0.0006827 BTC | 0.39% | – |
| 5 ZEC | 0.09413 BTC | 0.01% | 0.09398 BTC |
| 25 ZEC | 0.4709 BTC | 0.01% | 0.4701 BTC |
| 100 ZEC | 1.8609 BTC | <0.01% | – |
How to swap ZEC to BTC
Enter an amount of at least 0.01362 ZEC and paste your BTC address on Bitcoin.
Send the exact amount in one transaction from Zcash to the deposit address shown after you start.
Zcash adds a block about 75 seconds on average. Our partner decides how many confirmations to wait for, and the order page shows each step.
Your BTC is sent to your address.
Going the other way: BTC to ZEC
- Minimum 0.0002145 BTC, payout fee 0.0048 ZEC.
- 0.00065 BTC → 0.02859 ZEC
- 0.01 BTC → 0.513 ZEC
- Checked 17 Sep 2026, 18:30 UTC.
Why people swap Zcash to Bitcoin
Which balance pays the deposit
This swap starts in a Zcash wallet, so the first question is where your ZEC sits. A wallet can hold coins at transparent addresses and in a shielded balance. The two leave very different traces. Our Zcash (ZEC) coin page explains both address types.
Now look at the deposit address your order shows. If it begins with t1 or t3, it is transparent. Paid from your shielded balance, the transaction does not show your address. The amount and the deposit address are still public. Paid from a transparent address, all three are public. The deposit also joins the earlier history of that address.
A wallet that follows ZIP 315, a draft guide for Zcash wallets, pays a transparent address only from shielded funds. If your coins sit at a transparent address, it may ask you to shield them first. That adds a transaction and a fee, and the shielding step stays linked to your transparent address.
When the coins must leave the shielded pool first
Unshielding is the opposite step. It moves ZEC from a shielded balance to a transparent address. A normal transparent deposit address does not need it. A TEX address does. It starts with tex1 and is meant to receive only ZEC paid from transparent addresses, so the receiver can send a payment back to where it came from. The network itself does not enforce this. A wallet that supports ZIP 320 unshields your coins to a one-time transparent address and pays from there. That means two transactions and two fees. A wallet without that support does not recognize a tex1 address at all.
Getting the Bitcoin, and what to accept
A shielded deposit hides only half of the trip. The BTC payout is public on the Bitcoin chain, as our Bitcoin (BTC) coin page explains. If the deposit address is transparent, its amount is public too, and someone who watches both chains can try to pair the two by time and value.
Add a Zcash refund address that you control. A deposit from a shielded balance shows no sender on the chain, so the chain gives no address to return it to. From the moment your ZEC reaches the deposit address, our liquidity partner holds it. Screening may also hold a swap, and Risk and screening covers how that works. A floating quote keeps the BTC amount open until your ZEC deposit confirms. Planning to move back into ZEC later? The Bitcoin to Zcash swap page explains how to pick a shielded payout address.
Sending ZEC and receiving BTC
Sending ZEC (Zcash)
Send ZEC on the Zcash network, in one transaction, to the deposit address of your order. Zcash has transparent and shielded addresses. Check which type the deposit address is and which pool your ZEC sits in, because both decide what the chain shows about your payment.
- If some of your ZEC is still in the old Orchard pool, any amount that leaves it is public, even when it goes to a shielded address. Let a wallet with Ironwood support move it to Ironwood before you pay from it.
- Update your wallet before you send. After a network upgrade, such as Ironwood on 28 July 2026, transactions made under the old rules are no longer valid.
Receiving BTC (Bitcoin)
Give a Bitcoin address from a wallet you control. It can start with 1, 3, bc1q or bc1p. A BTC payout does not use a memo or tag, so the address is all you need. Your BTC arrives on the Bitcoin network only.
- Use a new receive address for each swap. A reused address links your payments together on the public ledger.
- If the BTC does not show yet, copy the payout transaction ID from your order page and look it up in a block explorer. If it is confirmed there, let your wallet finish syncing.
ZEC to BTC questions
Questions about Zcash itself, such as legality and delistings, are answered in our Zcash (ZEC) coin guide
Which ZEC balance should pay the deposit, shielded or transparent?
The shielded one, if you can. Then your own address does not appear on the chain. A transparent deposit address still shows the amount it received. A payment from a transparent address shows your address as well, and links the deposit to everything else that address has done.
Why does my wallet ask me before it sends transparent ZEC?
Because such a payment reveals your address and how much you sent. ZIP 315, a draft guide for Zcash wallets, says a wallet should not spend transparent funds to someone else unless you agree, one transaction at a time. The same guide says a wallet must pay a transparent address only from shielded funds. So your wallet may ask you to shield the coins first.
What is unshielding, and do I need it before this swap?
Unshielding moves ZEC from a shielded balance to a transparent address. You usually do not need it. A wallet can pay a transparent deposit address straight from a shielded balance. The exception is a TEX address, which starts with tex1.
What happens if a deposit address starts with tex1?
A TEX address is meant to receive ZEC paid only from transparent addresses. A wallet that supports ZIP 320 handles this for you. It unshields your coins to a one-time transparent address and then pays from there, so you see two transactions and two fees. A wallet without that support does not recognize the address. Switch to a wallet with ZIP 320 support.
Why is my spendable ZEC lower than my balance?
Coins that arrived recently may still be waiting for confirmations. Under ZIP 315, a wallet should hold back coins from others until they have 10 confirmations, and change from its own transactions until it has 3. Let the wallet finish syncing. Start the order once the spendable amount covers your swap.
Why is the Zcash fee higher when my wallet holds many small amounts?
Under ZIP 317, the conventional fee depends on the number of inputs and outputs, not on how much ZEC you send. For transparent inputs, their total size in bytes is what counts. A deposit built from many small receipts needs more inputs, so it pays a higher fee than one built from a single large receipt.
Will the BTC payout show where my ZEC came from?
The Bitcoin chain shows the payout to your address and its amount. It holds no record of your Zcash address. On the Zcash side, a shielded payment hides your address, but a transparent deposit address still shows the amount it received. Someone who watches both chains can try to match the two sides by time and value.