White Plains, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/22/2018 -- The Anonymous Bitcoin (ANON) team will debut their cryptocurrency, ANON, in September 2018. ANON coin was developed to address the demand for a cryptocurrency that provides truly anonymous transactions. A list of participating exchanges is expected by August 15, 2018, and the remainder of the BTCA testnet will take place up to the snapshot on September 9, 2018. ANON will officially be available on September 10, 2018 at a 1:1 ratio to holders of Bitcoin (BTC) and ZClassic (ZCL).

As it is a co-fork of BTC and ZCL, one must hold BTC or ZCL prior to the fork to acquire ANON. The maximum amount of ANON will be 31.5 million, with 24 million ANON available when the fork occurs. BTCA intends to set ANON apart from other forks by succeeding where previous forks did not. The team cites lack of anonymous transactions, high transactions fees, and lengthy transaction times as some of the failures their coin will circumvent.

The ability to anonymously transact draws many to cryptocurrency. BTC, the most prominent cryptocurrency, does not facilitate anonymous transactions. ANON draws from the privacy protocol of ZCL to provide anonymous transactions by using the same MIT-developed zkSNARKs privacy protocol. The zkSNARKs protocol allows for verifiable transactions without requiring interaction between the prover and verifier. As such, transactions are both secure and completely anonymous.

While previous forks, like ZCL, have succeeded in providing anonymous transactions, they have fallen short in other ways that deterred widespread market adoption of the currency. The BTCA team includes several crypto and Fintech veterans who have observed other forks and what the crypto community wants to see. Increased block size and incorporation of masternodes are two features the BTCA team integrated into ANON in response to crypto market demand. Developers increased block size to support faster transaction times. Masternodes provide an opportunity for return on investment for holders of a minimum required amount of a particular coin. Through masternodes, holders of ANON can stake the currency. Staking incentivizes holding the coin for extended periods of time.

The BTCA team intends that ANON is accessible and appealing to both those who have never used crypto and existing crypto users. As such, a community presence and transparent development are core principles for BTCA. BTCA has a social media presence, through which they communicate with their public. Videos of the forking process, frequent updates, and Q&A events allow anyone to follow the forking process. The team wants to tell their forking story in such a way that those unfamiliar with crypto are interested and informed, thus overcoming what was a challenge for previous forks in terms of effectively connecting with those new to crypto.