NYM now accepts shielded ZEC payments
We’re excited to share that the NymVPN Project (NYM) is now the first service to officially accept shielded ZEC payments via the updated BTCPayServer plugin. NYM is a leading provider of decentralized mixnet services — a type of network that anonymizes internet traffic to protect users from surveillance and censorship. Privacy is at the core of everything NYM does: they don’t collect metrics and aim to eliminate any possibility of identifying the payer. That’s why integrating shielded Zcash payments was a natural and important step for them.
How did this become possible?
Bringing ZEC support to BTCPayServer wasn’t easy. The initial Zcash plugin showed promise, but adoption stalled due to technical hurdles, including complex setup and lack of ongoing maintenance. After gathering community feedback and analyzing the challenges, Zcash Community Grants (ZCG) reimagined the approach — focusing on simplicity, reliability, and real-world usability.
In April 2025, ZCG awarded a grant to upgrade the plugin, enabling the use of Sapling shielded addresses and viewing keys for secure payment reception without using private keys or seed phrases in server settings. Thanks to this, any store or service can now integrate Zcash with minimal technical overhead.
ZCG is committed to further improving the merchant experience. We’re preparing step-by-step guides and resources to make integration as smooth as possible, and we’re counting on help from ZecHub and the broader community to spread the word. Support for Orchard is also planned as a future enhancement.
Acknowledgements
This milestone was only possible thanks to the hard work of many individuals and teams. We’re deeply grateful to the BTCPayServer team for their support, collaboration, and vital role in advancing the crypto payment ecosystem.
BTCPayServer is one of the most impactful projects in the space, not just enabling merchants to accept crypto, but helping transform it from a speculative asset into a tool for everyday use and financial empowerment.
A special thanks to BTCPayServer founder and lead developer Nicolas Dorier, whose contributions to open and decentralized payments are immeasurable.
If you believe that cryptocurrency is more than just speculation — that it can drive real economic change — follow @BtcpayServer on X and support the project.
Huge thanks also go out to the passionate Zcash community contributors: @hanh, 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.
We are grateful to the NymVPN Project team, for actively testing, giving feedback, and becoming the first live adopter of the plugin.
Finally, to all community members who shared ideas, helped with testing, and offered feedback — thank you. We hope this project demonstrates a responsible and efficient use of ZCG funds for real-world privacy adoption.
Pay for NYM services privately using Zcash!
We invite everyone to use ZEC to pay for services at nym.com and help advance privacy-preserving payments online. This is the first real-world showcase of shielded Zcash payments via BTCPayServer, and anyone can participate.
Technical documentation for the Zcash plugin is available here:
GitHub – BTCPayServer Zcash Plugin Installation Guide
Simple, accessible guides for a wider audience, from developers to enthusiasts — are coming soon to ZecHub.
Official site: 