Coinbase Brings Zcash to Decentralized Finance with cbZEC on Base

Coinbase has launched cbZEC on its Base layer-2 network, marking one of the biggest pieces of Zcash news this year. The launch brings Zcash into decentralized finance (DeFi) and arrives alongside a sister token, cbHYPE.

cbZEC is a wrapped version of ZEC, the native token behind the ecosystem. It's built to run on the Ethereum Virtual Machine, which powers Base. Coinbase holds the real privacy coin in custody, backing every asset issued 1:1 with actual ZEC.

This custody model sets cbZEC apart from many other wrapped tokens, which are often run by anonymous bridges. With cbZEC, ZEC holders can now use their native token as DeFi collateral and gain new ways to earn and trade.