Zcash Shielded News | Vol.59
New Team Structure at ECC, ZCG Meeting Minutes – 11/24/25, ZECpublish Live in Alpha, Zcash Z3 Updates , Zebra-Pi: Plug-and-Play Full Node for Zcash
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!
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Fact of the Week💡
Zcash Community Grants (ZCG) is a community-elected grants committee responsible for evaluating, selecting and financing projects that strengthen the Zcash ecosystem.
Today, December 4th at 5pm UTC, there will be a call with the new ZCG candidates. Stay tuned.
📩 IN TODAY’S EDITION
🚀 New Team Structure at ECC
• ECC introduces updates to its internal structure, highlighting improved coordination and support for Zcash users.
👥 ZCG | Meeting Minutes – 11/24/25
• Summary of discussions, proposals, and decisions from the latest ZCG meeting.
📝 ZECpublish Live in Alpha
• ZecHub launches the alpha version of ZECpublish, a new community-driven publishing tool for Zcash content.
👨💻 Zcash Z3 Updates | Pacu — November 28th
• Weekly Z3 report covering network progress, ecosystem updates, and development milestones.
🇧🇷 Zebra-Pi: Plug-and-Play Full Node for Zcash
• Introduction of Zebra-Pi by Zcash Brazil, the first customized, plug-and-play full node designed to make running Zcash easy and accessible.
Last week, we got some news from ECC about its structure. At the beginning of last year, ECC focused on delivering the best possible user experience for ZEC.
Zashi adoption is accelerating, shielded usage is rising fast, and ECC is restructuring internally to match this momentum and scale into 2026.
Here are the main pillars of this structure:
1) Engineering Reorganization
ECC has unified protocol and mobile engineering under Andrea.
Her leadership on Zashi has proven exceptional in speed, structure, and execution.
Key goals:
Tighter integration between Zashi UX and protocol development
Faster iteration across teams
Clear, unified planning and priorities
2) Marketing Consolidation
All marketing and communications now sit under Tatyana
Her deep user-research background and product insight helped Zashi find strong product-market fit.
Key goals:
Build a world-class, lean marketing team
Strengthen Zashi, Zcash, and ECC brand identity
Drive campaigns that grow awareness and shielded usage
3) Product Leadership
Under Josh, Zashi evolved from a prototype to the most trusted Zcash interface.
He continues guiding product direction while aligning tightly with engineering & marketing.
Key goals:
Deliver a world-class, cross-platform ZEC UX
Expand capabilities for storing and using shielded ZEC
Deepen alignment between product, engineering, and user insights
4) Operations, Partnerships & Support
Tony Margarit expands his role to lead ECC’s operational and partnership growth.
Key goals:
Build partnerships aligned with Zashi adoption
Scale support infrastructure for a growing user base
Remove cross-functional bottlenecks
5) Protocol Research & Security
A dedicated long-term research and security pillar is now officially led by Daira-Emma Hopwood, principal author of the Zcash Protocol Spec.
Key goals:
Deep research in protocol design and formalization
Collaboration with ZF, Tachyon, Shielded Labs & ecosystem teams
Guide secure, user-aligned protocol evolution
Lead ECC security as Zashi and Zcash scale
ECC is reorganizing now to double down on what’s working, delivering a world-class privacy UX and shaping Zcash’s next chapter.
Participants 👥
Alex (FPF, notetaker)
🔹 ZEC-NAM Shielded Airdrop Protocol | $150,000
Goal: Implement a fully private, cross-chain ZEC→NAM shielded airdrop using ZK proofs and nullifiers, enabling ZEC holders to claim NAM without linking identities.
ZCG Feedback: Strong tech value; debate on whether to require a design phase first. Concerns about milestones being parallel and lack of wallet integration clarity. Team is trusted; majority supports proceeding.
Status: Approved. ✅ (Gguy abstained)
Goal: Gamified onboarding app with interactive modules based on ZecHub content, including quizzes, badges, localization, and full community rollout.
ZCG Feedback: Prefer supporting community quests on existing platforms; redundant to build a new one.
Status: Rejected. ❌
Goal: Cloud-native analytics platform for Zcash with real-time metrics, APIs, and dashboards (Phase 1 foundation).
ZCG Feedback: Ecosystem already has dashboards; no unique value; no community engagement.
Status: Rejected. ❌
🔹 Threshold Shielded Signing Kit (TSSK) | $25,000
Goal: FROST-powered multisig kit for shielded ZEC, with SDK, relay, and CLI tooling.
ZCG Feedback: Functionality overlaps with existing ZF FROST toolkits; unclear necessity.
Status: Rejected. ❌
🔹 Brave Global Privacy Campaign | $750,000
Goal: Massive 3-month Zcash marketing campaign: 15 New Tab Takeovers, 100M+ impressions, wallet activation push, co-marketing with Brave.
ZCG Feedback: Gathering input from ecosystem (ECC, etc.) before voting.
Status: Open. 🕓
🔹 Education Initiative for Latin America | $60,000
Goal: University-accredited courses on Zcash, privacy, and cryptography across LATAM, plus clubs and hackathons.
Status: Rejected. ❌ (see Forum)
🔹 Bootstrapped & Deterministic Builds (StageX) | $48,000
Goal: Introduce StageX-based reproducible build environments to strengthen Zcash supply-chain security.
ZCG Feedback: Mixed, some repo PRs merged, some not; unclear compensation model if PRs are unmerged. Needs clarification.
Status: Open. 🕓
Goal: AI-powered monitoring + Zcash-backed verification layer for critical infrastructure (energy, transport, etc.).
ZCG Feedback: Unclear benefit to Zcash; out of scope.
Status: Rejected. ❌
Goal: NFT-based fractional mining linked to real hardware, with shielded ZEC payouts.
ZCG Feedback: High risk; unclear value; virtual mining historically problematic; potentially profit-driven.
Status: Rejected. ❌
🔹 HoudiniSwap Integration | $50,000
Goal: Add Zcash support to HoudiniSwap’s cross-chain aggregator (already completed).
ZCG Feedback: Integration done without funding; high legal risk; not decentralized; precedent of paying for listings rejected.
Status: Rejected. ❌
🔹 Auto Failover Toolkit V2 | $39,500
Goal: Reliability layer for fast failover between lightwalletd endpoints.
Status: Rejected. ❌ (see Forum)
🔹 zec-go Node Client | $864,000
Goal: Full Zcash node written in Go as a third independent implementation.
ZCG Feedback: Unrealistic scope/timeline; ecosystem moving away from multiple node clients.
Status: Rejected. ❌
Goal: Quantum-resistant, local-only cryptography wallet with future Zcash integration.
ZCG Feedback: No demand for new wallets; quantum resistance should be network-level.
Status: Rejected. ❌
🔹 Monitoring & Observability Platform | $48,500
Goal: Unified monitoring stack for Zcash nodes (Grafana dashboards, alerts, exporters).
Status: Rejected. ❌ (see Forum)
🔹 ZGo 2025 Retroactive | $138,800
Goal: Migrate ZGo PoS system from zcashd to Zebra + Zenith wallet RPC; ensure long-term viability post-2025.
ZCG Feedback: Awaiting roadmap and more details; questions posted on Forum.
Status: Open. 🕓
Remember ZECPages? 👀
It was a project created by Michael Harms a few years ago that let the community send public messages through memos without revealing any information.
After a while, Michael announced he’d be shutting ZECPages down. Fortunately, last week we saw the launch of ZECPublish, which keeps the same spirit and features.
Check it out now → https://zecpublish.com
Last Monday marked a major milestone for the Zcash ecosystem, with another successful Network Upgrade completed thanks to the coordinated efforts of ZF, ECC, Zingo, Shielded Labs, ZCG, and many community contributors who shared reports and status updates.
Coinholders also voted on retroactive grant proposals on Tuesday, adding to an eventful week.
1) Outreach
The outreach team checked in with projects to ensure everyone was prepared for NU 6.1 and received positive confirmations.
Teams experimenting with ZF’s Z3 Docker files have shared encouraging feedback.
2) Zebra
Zebra released version 3.1.0, featuring fixes for ARM Docker support, mempool optimization, and larger RPC response limits.
3) Zaino (ZingoLabs)
ZingoLabs continues progress on the chain_state feature and is integrating feedback from ECC core developers. Transparent data support is also progressing.
4) Zallet Full Node Wallet
Zallet’s alpha release continues to evolve with contributions from external developers, CLI improvements (including username/password authentication), and foundational work merged for the upcoming sync engine revamp.
5) Block Explorer Support
Block explorer maintenance continues in response to NU 6.1 and increased transaction volume. Zebra-based explorer work is advancing toward production. Other items remain at last week’s status, with several RPC methods already completed and others still in testing or review.
Last week, Zcash Brazil launched an exciting initiative to strengthen the network’s security: Zebra-Pi, a plug-and-play full node designed to make running Zcash simple, fast, and accessible.
Built for enthusiasts, developers, and anyone who wants to support decentralization, the Zebra-Pi lets users contribute to the network with zero technical hassle—, ust plug it in and go.
The device was created by @JamesKatzCrypto, whose customization expertise shaped the entire setup. With coordination and funding from @michael2xl, Zcash Brazil helped turn the idea into a fully functional product tailored for the community.
Each Zebra-Pi includes a configured Raspberry Pi 4, a stable power supply, flexible connectivity, and an SSD pre-loaded with the Zcash blockchain, cutting initial sync time dramatically. A small stuffed zebra adds a playful nod to the ecosystem’s mascot.
With Zebra-Pi, Zcash Brazil is lowering the barrier to running a full node and strengthening the network through community-powered decentralization. More opportunities to get a Zebra-Pi are coming soon.
Congrats on the Initiative. Keep it up! 🫡💛