Zcash Shielded News | Vol.4
Bitcoin Takeover with Josh & Kris Nuttycom, ZF Opens Positions for the Board Directors, Network Sustainability Mechanism & Magic in 8 Bits - ECC Updates
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
Bitcoin Takeover is a digital podcast hosted by Vlad Costea, created in 2019, and since then has been bringing on builders and innovators who are making the Bitcoin project valuable, also covering projects working toward a better future.
Zcash opened many doors by being the first to implement ZKP in blockchains, also aiding well-known projects like Ethereum and Bitcoin with ZK Rollups, earning it the title of “mother/father” of zero-knowledge proofs.
In Season 15, Josh & Kris Nuttycom (ECC) were invited to talk about Zcash and address some of the doubts and questions that are increasingly arising in the crypto space and communities about privacy.
If you’re curious about the price of ZEC, Zcash vs. Monero, Zero-Knowledge Proofs, why Zcash remains a promising project after 8 years, vision and goals for the future, and other related topics, we highly recommend you check out this new episode.
On the same topic, to encourage the community to create clips from this episode, Vlad will be giving 0.1 ZEC to the first 20 Clip Makers who submit their cuts focused on the themes discussed in this podcast.
For those of you who stay up-to-date on the Zcash ecosystem through X, you’re probably already aware. Otherwise, we already have 17 entries, meaning there are only 4 spots left. Run, Forrest, Run! 🏃
The Zcash Foundation is currently governed by a six-person Board of Directors, consisting of five independent directors and the Executive Director, Jack Gavigan. While the board is self-elected, it seeks input from the Zcash community (represented by an advisory poll from ZCAP) on who should be nominated to the board.
Andrew Miller retained his position on the Board, while Peter and Amber have taken different paths.
Two new seats are open, and any member is eligible to apply.
Interested? —> Governance
Background:
Andrew Miller
Andrew is an associate professor and director of the Decentralized Systems Lab at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as an associate director of the Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts (IC3).
He has been involved with the Zcash project since 2016, initially as an advisor and later as chairman of the Zcash Foundation Board, a position to which he was re-elected to ensure the Foundation continues to benefit from his extensive experience.
Amber Baldet
Amber Baldet has been a member of the Zcash Foundation Board since 2018 and was instrumental in establishing the partnership between JP Morgan and ECC in 2017, integrating Zcash-based privacy into Quorum. In 2018, she founded Clovyr, a platform for developers to build and run open-source applications. Recently, she became a founding member of the Financial Privacy Foundation (FPF) and is now stepping down from the Zcash Foundation Board to dedicate herself exclusively to the FPF.
Peter Van Valkenburgh
Peter Van Valkenburgh is one of the founding directors of the Zcash Foundation and developed the successful application for the ZF to be recognized as a nonprofit organization.
In addition to being a former Google Policy Fellow for TechFreedom and a graduate of the NYU School of Law, Peter is currently the Director of Research at Coin Center. However, starting in January, he will take on a new role as Executive Director of Coin Center. Unfortunately, this means he is stepping down from the ZF Board.
Much has been said about the new sustainability mechanism called the Network Sustainability Mechanism. However, many still wonder what it’s all about. Soon, we'll be working to simplify what NSM is with more clarity.
Here’s a summary!
The Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM) is an update to Zcash’s issuance mechanism that maintains the 21 million coin cap and allows for the "burn" (removal) of ZEC from the circulating supply, with the option to reintroduce them as future block rewards to sustain the network.
The NSM is implemented through three ZIPs: ZIP 233 creates a voluntary "burn" mechanism for users to contribute to network sustainability; ZIP 234 smooths the issuance curve, allowing for predictably reintroducing burned ZEC; and ZIP 235 proposes that 60% of transaction fees be burned to support network sustainability.
The NSM promotes sustainability by allowing direct "donations" to the Zcash network and temporarily reducing the ZEC supply, increasing scarcity and the coin’s potential value in the short term. In the long term, it allows for a higher rate of coin creation to reward miners, stakers, and the Dev Fund, while respecting the 21 million coin cap.
The importance of the NSM lies in its potential to address Zcash’s network security in the future, similar to concerns about Bitcoin’s security budget, ensuring adequate incentives for network security even after block subsidies decline.
Listen to the X Spaces that took place this past Tuesday (5th) for further insights ☎️
Josh's analogy this week was a celebration of Zcash’s eighth anniversary, highlighting the significance of the number 8, which is associated with prosperity and eternity, and connecting it to Zcash’s use of Zero-Knowledge Proofs.
On October 28, the community celebrated on Discord, reflecting on Zcash’s accomplishments as a whole, from the initial implementation of ZKP with Sprout, to improvements with Sapling, and the elimination of the "Trust Setup (Ceremony)" with Orchard. These advancements have impacted both Zcash and the wider world.
In theory, Zcash is now preparing for its third phase, marked by the second halving and the end of direct development funding (Dev Fund). Its expansion plans now include the launch of Zcash Shielded Assets by Qedit, Shielded Labs’ delivery of Crosslink for a hybrid PoW/PoS system, and the growth of wallets with shielded support.
The Zcash ecosystem is rapidly decentralizing, and the community is vibrant, with initiatives in multiple countries and increasing contributions to the development and adoption of the cryptocurrency.
ECC Progress
Zashi 📱
Zashi Design
Transaction History Redesign Completed
Progress on Design Exploration for the Home Screen & App Navigation
Finalized Designs for Transaction Success/Error Screens (ready for development in Light/Dark mode)
Work in Progress to Customize Progress Animations
Ongoing Exploration of Ideas for Multi-Wallet & Multi-Currency Support
iOS 🍎
Unique Installs: 3.75k
Total Installs: 4.43k
Rating: 4.9 ★
Lottie Integration Implementation
Work on Redesigning the "SendConfirmation" Screens with Success/Progress/Error States
Transaction Send Screen with Animation
Redesign of the Partial Error Screen
ToolTip Adjusted to Point Downwards as Well, Used on the "Recovery Phrase" Screen to Explain the "Anniversary"
Adopted Spanish Translations by @yasserisa
Android 🤖
Total Install Base: 2.28k
Total Installs (incl. Open Beta):): 8.22k
Rating: 4.594 ★
Completed Redesign of All Settings Flows
App Initialization Authentication Finalized
ECC Began Redesigning the "SendConfirmation" Screens with Success/Progress/Error States
Yasser's Translations Added + Preparing an Internal Build
Implemented Authentication for Flexa Purchases
Zcash Core
Working on PCZT format
Crosslink 2 write-up, security proof
Removed the explicit dependency on wallet errors from librustzcash#1535.
Working on explicit fees ZIP
Meeting with QEDIT(ZSA fees)
Initial framework for the zcashd wallet replacement binary (wallet#8).
Reviewed the open ZSA ZIP draft update PR for semantic stability.
NU7 ZIP review
Reviewed: librustzcash#1593, librustzcash#1596
Others 🌐
Josh met with Ripio's CEO, Seb Serrano. Ripio supports Zcash in its wallet and is accessible to 90% of the population in Central and South America. Josh discussed with him the possibility of adding their product to Zashi. Similar to what ECC is doing with Coinbase, this would allow Latin American users to buy and sell ZEC directly within the wallet.
Brave is nearly finished implementing its wallet, which will support shielded ZEC, and they will soon begin a security review.
Tonym & Josh have started to become more deeply involved with some companies they invested in some time ago, including Agoric, Starkware, Bolt Labs, and Ingonyama. Josh will be joining the Agoric Board of Directors (BoD).
Check out the update from Keystone on their progress, and ECC has been moving closer to supporting Zashi
Several ECC members will meet in person next week for an in-depth planning session on Zashi, budgeting, and sustainability.
The next Z|ECC Summit, the biannual team + community planning event for ECC, has been scheduled for the week of January 13 in Cancun, Mexico. Community builders are welcome to join us. Registration will be available soon.
ECC is hiring! Join them.