great post here by @zacodil on the differences between Zcash and NEAR privacy i'd also add that NEAR privacy is non-adversarial it's less about escaping warfare, state sanctions, political persecution, tyrannies or protecting whistleblowers (all that ZEC does very well) and more about basic privacy for day-to-day activities for a larger user base, well-connected among (and connecting) many ecosystems Zcash is privacy for everyone, yes, but it thrives more in adversarial environments, don't scale as much, still relies on NEAR for broader connectivity, and requires a bit more waiting time for settlement/confirmation NEAR confidential layer on the other hand has some permission and compliance elements (non-adversarial) users need to be aware of i believe they complement each other very well you just need to be aware of the trade-offs easily my favorite projects on crypto right now ZEC for a full private, permissionless, and decentralized experience (including in adversarial situations); but with lower scalability, slower transactions, and more expensive fees NEAR for day-to-day activities you want to keep confidential, high scalability, fast transactions, lower fees, chain-abstracted experience; but with permission/centralization elements (in the private layer only) that do not work so well in adversarial environments (NEAR L1 is fully decentralized and permissionless, but transparent) we can use, support and contribute to both :)