Arrow is a block-one hard fork of Zcash, which means the foundational code of Arrow is the same as Zcash’s code as it exists at the block of the fork. However, Arrow has implemented significant upgrades to the Zcash code, including but not limited to the following features:

Private-Only Transactions

The vast majority of Zcash transactions are public. All transactions occurring on Arrow will be 100% private, shielded transactions between wallets. The wallet, Quiver, will be an easy-to-use application on mobile and desktop devices. Users will not even be offered the option to have nonshielded transactions. All transactions will have mandatory shielding to ensure 100% private transactions between users.

Reduced Block Time

Zcash’s block times are approximately 180 seconds per block. Arrow is over 3x faster, with 45-second block times. This increase means faster blocks and, ultimately, faster user transactions.

Mobile- and Web-based zk-SNARKs

The initial version of Zcash and zk-SNARKs required massive computational power to create the proof and execute a private transaction. Arrow utilizes recent upgrades to the Zcash code base via Sapling and its own changes and upgrades to the code to make transactions faster and significantly more private.

Better, Easier to Use Wallet

The majority of cryptocurrency wallets are hard to use because their user interfaces are poorly designed. Arrow’s wallet will be light, fast, and easy to use. The user experience is paramount in facilitating user adoption. The core Arrow tenets are privacy and usability — a beautiful, easy to use wallet is at the heart of these two goals.

Open Mining

Arrow is not conducting an ICO, IEO, airdrop, or premine. Mining will be publicly available to everyone from block one to encourage usage and to promote decentralization of Arrow from block one. The Arrow website includes links to mining pools and guides about how to mine the coin.

Updated Mining Algorithm

Arrow, like Zcash, will use the Equihash mining algorithm. However, Arrow uses an updated version of Equihash called Equihash Heavy (192, 7). The minimum VRAM for Equihash Heavy is 2.5GB, which will limit ASIC miners and FPGAs from participating in the network and adds a much needed security enhancement over Zcash.