[choffman]

ZCash requires a trusted setup, takes a 20% fee from miners, and active mixing requires 8GB of RAM.

https://blog.okturtles.com/2016/03/the-zcash-catch/

http://weuse.cash/2016/06/09/btc-xmr-zcash/

If you are interested in anonymous blockchains, I highly encourage you to look into Monero. It meets or exceeds that of ZCash. And Monero's RingCT is currently implemented and in use on TestNet with a target "go-live" this January.

[urza]

Could you please explain this?

_"And Monero's RingCT is currently implemented and in use on TestNet with a target "go-live" this January."_

I couldnt find any relevant infromation on this. Does it mean that from January 2017 bitcoin will have anonymity properties of Monero?

[Ar-Curunir]

8GB of RAM is only required when you want to transact; if you're not making transactions but are simply another node in the network (perhaps mining, or something), then I don't think the work required is any different from Bitcoin.

[urza]

Thanks for these articles. Great comparison! Monero looks very good indeed.