Real anonymity is possible: NymVPN now accepts shielded ZEC payments

Get NymVPN with anonymous payments via Zcash

July 9, 20254 mins Read

A new milestone in internet privacy has been reached: NymVPN now accepts shielded ZEC (Zcash) payments. This brings online anonymity full circle: protect not only your traffic patterns, but also your payments. Freedom from surveillance requires a privacy stack. For the Nym team, Zcash has been at the forefront of building it at the level of crypto. NymVPN finishes the circle for all your traffic.

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Building a privacy stack with Zcash

Surveillance systems are sophisticated, and artificial intelligence (AI) technology is accelerating their precision. Protecting ourselves requires many tools in unison.

Nym designed NymVPN to protect not just the content of our communications and activity, but the metadata trails left behind. But paying for any digital service risks revealing personal information like your name, address, and financial data. Nym introduced zk-nyms as a first line of defense so that no matter which way you pay for NymVPN, your payment information will remain unlinkable to your use of the app.

But this isn’t complete anonymity: while Nym will never see your activity on the network, or even know your use of it, we can still see that you paid. By purchasing a NymVPN subscription in Zcash or other privacy coins changes this, adding another layer of anonymity to your digital life.

What is a privacy coin like ZEC?

Zcash (ZEC) is a decentralized, open-source cryptocurrency. ZEC is built on the same codebase as Bitcoin, but it adds crucial privacy features lacking in traditional cryptocurrencies. Its primary innovation is zk-SNARKs (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge) a form of zero-knowledge proof that allows transactions to be verified without revealing any information about the sender, receiver, or transaction amount. This eliminates metadata which can be collected to identify the payer, amount, and recipient.

Integrating shielded Zcash (ZEC) payments for NymVPN was thus a natural and important step for NymVPN to ensure that everyone can profit from the Internet without fear of surveillance.

Shout outs to the privacy stack

Real privacy needs a crowd. Integrating NymVPN with ZEC was only possible thanks to the hard work of many individuals and teams.

BTCPayServer

Nym owes a lotto the BTCPayServer team for their support and collaboration in advancing the crypto payment ecosystem. A special thanks goes out to BTCPayServer founder and lead developer Nicolas Dorier, whose contributions to open and decentralized payments are incalculable.

The Zcash Community

Also a huge thanks also go out to the passionate Zcash community contributors at Zechub: @hhanh00 who built the first version of the plugin, and @1337Bytes who refined and modernized it for the current BTCPayServer version, bringing it to production-ready status.

Pay for NymVPN privately using Zcash!

An anonymous digital life begins with how you access it. So try out your ZEC to pay for a NymVPN subscription and help advance privacy-preserving payments online. This is the first real-world showcase of shielded Zcash payments via BTCPayServer, and anyone can participate.

In the meantime, you can check the open source documentation for the technical documentation for the Zcash plugin

Zcash with NymVPN: FAQs

How does accepting shielded ZEC payments enhance the anonymity of NymVPN subscriptions?

By integrating Zcash shielded address payments, NymVPN prevents linking payment metadata to network usage—completing a privacy stack that ensures users' identity, finance, and traffic are isolated.

What BTCPayServer plugin changes made ZEC support possible for NymVPN?

A Zcash Community Grants–funded update enabled Sapling shielded address support and viewing-key-based settlement—making shielded ZEC payment via BTCPayServer reliable and private.

Are there plans to support other privacy coins like Monero in the future?

You can pay for NymVPN in Monero, Litecoin, and a range of other crypto currencies.

Does using shielded ZEC payment change how Nym issues access credentials?

No—zk‑nym credentials remain unlinkable to the payment method, ensuring the identity and usage patterns are never tied to your wallet or transaction details.

How does this payment integration impact censorship resistance and privacy holistically?

It ensures that not only your traffic is anonymized via the mixnet, but your subscription and payment behaviors are also shielded—preventing surveillance across network, identity, and financial layers.