Zcash Block Explorer: How to Read Transparent and Shielded Transactions
Updated: Nov 2, 2026
Last updated: 2 November 2026
Quick answer
A Zcash block explorer exposes the public on-chain fields of a transparent transaction, including transparent addresses and amounts, much like a Bitcoin explorer. For a fully shielded transaction, it can show that the transaction exists, its block and confirmations, its fee and shielded-action metadata, while sender, receiver, amount, and memo remain hidden. An explorer also cannot derive an individual shielded balance from public chain data. Wallet or account viewing keys can selectively reveal shielded activity to their holder. Current explorer options include mainnet.zcashexplorer.app, zcashblockexplorer.com (which supports imported viewing keys), Zcashinfo.com (launched by Foundry in April 2026), and multi-chain explorers such as Blockchair.
Three kinds of Zcash transactions
| Type | What the explorer shows | What it hides |
|---|---|---|
| Transparent (t-address to t-address) | Inputs, outputs, addresses, amounts, fee, block, confirmations | No transaction amount/address fields are shielded; real-world identity is not encoded on chain |
| Shielding or deshielding (t to z, z to t) | The transparent side in full: the fee, the block, a label such as “Shielding (T-Z)” | The shielded side: who received or sent the shielded value |
| Fully shielded (z to z) | Existence, block, confirmations, fee, number of shielded actions, labeled “Shielded” with 0 public inputs and 0 public outputs | Sender, receiver, amount, memo |
The middle row is where most confusion comes from. When an exchange that supports only transparent withdrawals sends ZEC to a shielded address, the explorer shows the exchange’s side of the transaction and nothing about where the value landed. That is correct behavior, not a failed transfer.
Which Zcash explorers to use in 2026
- mainnet.zcashexplorer.app labels each transaction by type (Public, Shielding, Shielded) and shows public inputs and outputs, confirmations and block height. It is the explorer Chainstack lists in its Zcash tooling documentation.
- zcashblockexplorer.com accepts an imported viewing key and displays the shielded transactions that key can decrypt. The ZecHub wiki notes the trade-off: the decryption happens on the explorer’s node, so you are trusting the site operator with that information.
- Zcashinfo.com was launched by Foundry alongside its Zcash mining pool in April 2026 and shows mining-pool hashrate distribution as well as blocks and transactions.
- Blockchair covers Zcash among many chains and is convenient for a quick confirmation count.
- Your own node. Zebra exposes JSON-RPC, so a self-hosted explorer sees the same public data without sharing your queries with anyone.
Node software matters for explorers. zcashd reached its End-of-Support halt on 18 July 2026 and does not support NU6.3; operators were directed to migrate to Zebra for full-node functionality. Explorer backends also need NU6.3/Ironwood-aware parsing to interpret post-upgrade transactions correctly.
How to check whether your ZEC arrived
- Get the transaction ID. An exchange shows it on the withdrawal history page; a swap service shows it on the order page once it has sent your ZEC. On SimpleSwap, each order has a unique ID and a tracking page that moves through deposit, exchange, and sending statuses.
- Look the ID up. Confirm the transaction is in a block and count confirmations. As of 2 November 2026, Zcash still targets 75-second blocks. NU7 is scheduled to activate on mainnet at height 3,543,405 on 5 November 2026, after which the target spacing becomes 25 seconds.
- Read the type label. If the destination was a shielded address, the explorer will show a shielding or shielded transaction with no visible recipient. That is expected.
- Open your wallet. Only a wallet holding the keys can show a shielded balance. Make sure the wallet is fully synced; a wallet that is behind the chain tip will not show the deposit even though the explorer does.
- If the destination was transparent, the explorer shows the balance of that address directly, like Bitcoin.
Viewing keys: selective disclosure without spending power
Shielded Zcash accounts support viewing authority without spending authority. For modern Unified Addresses, ZIP 316 defines Unified Incoming Viewing Keys (UIVKs) and Unified Full Viewing Keys (UFVKs), which can contain viewing keys for supported receiver types. Incoming viewing keys let a wallet detect incoming shielded payments; full viewing authority additionally supports recovery of outgoing transaction information where the wallet used the corresponding outgoing viewing key. Neither grants spending authority.
The use cases are practical. An exchange can watch deposits with an incoming viewing key on an internet-connected machine while the spending key stays offline. A custodian can hand a full viewing key to an auditor. A business can give its accountant read-only access to shielded activity. zcashblockexplorer.com and wallets such as YWallet accept imported viewing keys to display the decrypted history.
The security rule follows from the design. A viewing key cannot move funds, but it reveals your history to whoever holds it, so share it only with parties who need it and never paste it into an explorer you do not trust.
Unified addresses and the Ironwood pool on the explorer
Since NU5 in 2022, Unified Addresses have provided a single encoding that can bundle multiple receiver types; Revision 0 mainnet UAs use the “u” human-readable prefix. A sender wallet selects a supported receiver according to its rules. Since Ironwood/NU6.3 activated on 28 July 2026, current software can route shielded transfers to the Ironwood receiver where supported. Shielded recipient addresses do not appear in plaintext on chain; shielded outputs are represented as encrypted notes and commitments.
Explorers do show one shielded figure that matters: the value held in each shielded pool. The Zcash protocol tracks the balance of Sprout, Sapling, Orchard, and Ironwood as public totals, which is how the Ironwood accounting checkpoint can verify the supply as Orchard funds migrate.
Where SimpleSwap fits
When ZEC is the asset you receive, SimpleSwap sends it to the address you enter and shows the order status on the tracking page. Most crypto-to-crypto swaps need no account. The service fee is built into the quoted rate; details are available on the website. Network fees go to the Zcash network. KYC may be required for transaction security and compliance, and availability is subject to the Terms of Service and jurisdictional restrictions. The only official domain is simpleswap.io.
Rick Cramer, Head of Analytics at SimpleSwap, set the bar for infrastructure in the CryptoSlate guide on self-custody: “Boring is the highest compliment you can pay infrastructure. Boring means it worked.” A shielded transaction that shows up on the explorer as a bare hash with a rising confirmation count is boring in exactly that sense.
FAQ
Can I see a shielded Zcash transaction on a block explorer?
Which Zcash block explorer should I use?
Why does the explorer show no recipient for my ZEC withdrawal?
What is a Zcash viewing key?
Can I check a Zcash address balance?
How many confirmations does a ZEC deposit need?
How we checked
Sources
- mainnet.zcashexplorer.app: example of a shielded transaction page
- mainnet.zcashexplorer.app: example of a shielded (T-Z) transaction page
- ZecHub wiki: Viewing Keys
- Chainstack: Zcash tooling (explorer, address index, shielded visibility)
- Business Wire: Foundry Zcash Pool launches alongside Zcashinfo.com
- Zcash documentation: zcashd end-of-life
- Zcash Ironwood specification
- CryptoSlate: Self-custody in 2026 (source of the quote)
Related reading
The information in this article is not a piece of financial advice or any other advice of any kind. The reader should be aware of the risks involved in trading cryptocurrencies and make their own informed decisions. SimpleSwap is not responsible for any losses incurred due to such risks. For details, please see our Terms of Service.
