Zcash Shielded News | Vol.11
ZCG: Results of the Election, Zcashd Deprecation: Updates, Discussion about NU7 Priorities & Keystone Zashi x Integration Goes Live!
Zcash Shielded News is a community article format based on the weekly Zcash Ecosystem Digest Newsletter.
Providing insight on current events and informing the community about important news in the Zcash ecosystem.
Check out the best Highlights below
Zcash Community Grants | New Members
December was the year when the ZCG opened 3 new positions for community members to elect themselves to the committee.
Among them, we had the terms of Amber O’Hearn, Jason McGee, and Michael Harms, who were the inspiration. Of these, only Amber and Jason applied for re-election.
However, other community members felt free to submit their candidacies for the first time, which was definitely one of the most relevant community calls to date.
Zerodartz,, Jason McGee and Arktor received the most votes through ZCAP and assumed their new positions on the committee, thus relieving Amber and Michael of their terms.
Regarding the compensation for ZCG committee members, the compensation for each member was voted:
Each member will receive 1,725 + 10 ZEC per month to carry out the work on the committee.
Congratulations to the 3 newly elected members, who are also part of the ZecHub DAO.
Onward!
Zcashd Deprecation | Updates (12/27/2024)
On December 27th, Pacu provided us with the latest updates on the Zcashd deprecation.
Outreach (Pili, Decentralistdan & Pacu): The progress of zcashd is on track, however, the holiday season has caused a slowdown in responses from companies.
Zebra: The engineering team was on break last week.
Zaino (ZingoLabs): The progress of the new system is well advanced, but with some typical challenges of new projects. Zingo is testing the Zebra Regtest and documenting the issues encountered. Invitations are being sent to the community to help, test, and suggest improvements. PRs for review are available.
In-Memory Backend: Progress is on track, but there have been some delays. The review of an important PR is still ongoing.
Zallet (formerly Zcashd Wallet CLI): The project is expected to be completed by the end of January, with a tight schedule. Work is being done to improve support for ZEC Transparent and implement the gap limit.
Wallet Export Format: The Zcash Community Grants program approved a funding project. Research on the format and the update to ZIP-400 have already begun. The Blockchain Commons team will start working on the project next year.
Finally, Pacu thanked the community for their trust and collaboration, highlighting the growth of collaboration in the Zcash ecosystem and the steps toward a more decentralized and developer-friendly development environment, wishing for the creation of Zcash-related projects next summer.
Discussion on Priorities on NU7
With the turn of the year and the implementation of NU6 already in place, the community has turned its attention to discussing the upcoming ZIPs to be included in NU7, based on the poll at heliosvoting.org/helios/elections.
Moving the discussion to the forum, debates continue to emerge about the ZIPs to be implemented.
Given the complexity of understanding the ZIPs, Daira Emma mentioned that a portion of the community isn’t 100% familiar with each component of the ZIPs. Therefore, making the poll easier to understand could give participants the time and focus they need to make informed decisions.
In this case, breaking it into smaller, more focused segments could really help participants better understand each topic and engage more thoughtfully.
Simplifying the Information: Given the complexity of the proposed ZIPs, consider breaking down the information into smaller parts, with clear and concise descriptions for each topic. Providing links to deeper details (such as the full ZIP proposals or background) will allow participants to explore more if they wish.
Phased Polling: Instead of asking everything at once, you could split the poll into multiple phases over a longer period, allowing participants to focus on specific ZIPs one at a time. For example:
Phase 1: Poll on ZIP 233 (Burning Mechanism)
Phase 2: Poll on ZIP 234 (Issuance Smoothing)
Phase 3: Poll on ZIP 235 (Burning Transaction Fees)
This approach could reduce mental load and ensure that participants don't feel overwhelmed.
Holiday Consideration: It’s important to recognize that the holiday season may affect participation. Extending the poll deadline or sending reminders after the holidays could help ensure higher engagement from participants who may be traveling or distracted during this period.
Engagement Strategy: Providing easy-to-understand summaries or FAQs (as Jason mentioned for Shielded Labs) will help participants who aren't as familiar with Zcash or the details of each ZIP. You could also consider offering discussion or Q&A sessions for those who need additional context before voting.
This strategy will ensure that the decision-making process is as accessible and thoughtful as possible for ZCAP members.
The debates about NU7 are ongoing! Stay tuned → /polling-zcap-on-nu7-priorities
Keystone Goes Live 🚀
To close 2024 on a high note, ECC has launched its final integration of the year with Keystone.
Keystone is a hardware wallet that houses a direct implementation with the Zashi wallet, allowing users to make shielded transactions directly to their Keystone.
This integration is a major community milestone that took years to accomplish, marking a significant evolution in Zcash usability by enabling shielded storage.
“It was a long and challenging road,” says Josh Swihart. “Due to the computation required to create zero-knowledge proofs, ECC had to overcome several technical hurdles to support shielded ZEC on a hardware wallet. This involves cryptography, hardware, and software, all coming together with a beautiful user experience for the first time.”
This integration features a robust front-end capable of handling the complexities of shielded ZEC transactions, which was essential for integration with Keystone. “Zashi wasn’t just another wallet; it became the necessary front-end that made the Keystone integration feasible.”
None of this would have been possible without the ECC core team’s deep knowledge of the Zcash protocol.
Teamwork
The Zcash community has faced setbacks with other hardware wallet platforms when development promises were not fulfilled, resulting in frozen funds and frustration.
Keystone emerged as a collaborative partner willing to push boundaries and innovate alongside ECC. Their exceptional commitment and capabilities have not gone unnoticed. The community embraced Keystone, and they received a grant from ZCG to propel their work.
The seamless exchange of ideas and solutions between the ECC and Keystone teams is remarkable. Keystone’s proactive approach and dedication to tackling complex technical issues made this a flawless collaboration.
"Keystone proved to be an invaluable partner in developing the Zashi integration, demonstrating remarkable agility and commitment to innovation. Their collaborative spirit and technical expertise allowed us to overcome significant challenges, turning ambitious concepts into practical solutions for shielded ZEC storage," says Josh.
Practicality
ECC does not recommend importing an old seed phrase into Keystone. Instead, create a new wallet and simply send your funds to Keystone's new address.
Sharing a seed phrase between wallets reduces the security of your funds and may result in long scanning times and seemingly unavailable funds.
Looking Ahead
With the successful launch of the Zashi-Keystone integration, ECC continues to pave the way for future advancements in Zcash technology and usability. Their commitment remains strong in providing the community with the tools they need to securely manage their assets while maintaining the privacy and security standards Zashi is known for.
What did you think of this integration? Order your Keystone now! 😊