The auction for 8,000 encrypted digital identities on the Zcash blockchain cleared at a uniform price of 1.5 ZEC per identity after attracting 16,971 bids and a total volume of 25,305 ZEC. The 48-hour blind auction, which closed on September 17, 2026, saw over 17,000 participants competing for just 8,000 spots, meaning more than half of all bidders walked away empty-handed with automatic refunds processed through Zcash’s shielded transactions. The zkSNARKs project also integrated NEAR Intents to allow bidding with ETH, SOL, or stablecoins, highlighting the growing demand for privacy tools. These encrypted digital identities are designed to serve as on-chain reputation and community access tools for governance features still under development.
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