💡 Fact of the Week
Did you know? Zcash traces its origins to Zerocash, a cryptographic protocol proposed in 2014?
Zerocash introduced a way to use zero-knowledge proofs to hide transaction senders, recipients, and amounts while still allowing transactions to be verified.
This research laid the foundation for Zcash, which launched on October 28, 2016, bringing privacy-preserving digital payments to a live blockchain.
📩 In today’s edition
🔐 Zodl 3.17.2 Strengthens Security on iOS and Android
• Zodl updates server connection verification in response to a third-party certificate issue, with the latest release now available on both platforms.
🦓 Foundry Deploys Zakura Nodes Into Production
• Foundry explores Zakura as an alternative Zcash node implementation while preparing its mining infrastructure for NU7.
🛡️ Nym Research Measures Network-Level Anonymity for Zcash
• New research evaluates how Nym’s mixnet strengthens network-level privacy for Zcash transactions.
🏛️ ZCG Approves Three New Ecosystem Grants
• Zcash Community Grants approves $78,380 in funding for infrastructure and regional outreach initiatives.
🔎 Vizor Introduces Private Information Retrieval for Transparent Addresses
• Vizor introduces beta PIR functionality, reducing address exposure when querying transparent ZEC balances and transaction history.
🌴 ZODL Summit 2027 Opens Applications
• Applications open for the January 19–21 gathering in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, focused on expanding shielded ZEC adoption.
Zodl has released version 3.17.2 for both iOS and Android, updating how the wallet verifies server connections in response to an industry-wide issue involving third-party certificates. The team stated that there is no evidence of exploitation against Zcash light wallet servers.
The release follows recent updates to the wallet, including Ledger hardware wallet support introduced in version 3.17.0. Zodl is encouraging all users to upgrade to version 3.17.2 to ensure they have the latest security improvements.
On October 13, Nym published new research examining how its mixnet strengthens network-level privacy for Zcash transactions. Using simulations based on existing network traffic, researchers estimated that routing Zcash transactions through Nym provides approximately 17 bits of anonymity entropy, potentially reaching 19 bits with longer mixing delays.
The integration is already live in wallets such as Zingo and Zkool, helping protect users against network surveillance that could link transactions to their IP addresses.
The study also measured the performance trade-off, with average transaction broadcast times of 276 milliseconds over a direct connection, 1.03 seconds through Tor, and 3.44 seconds through Nym.
To improve performance, researchers suggested increasing packet sizes, expanding wallet integrations, and introducing additional background traffic. Nym emphasized that these findings are preliminary, with further research planned.
Vizor has introduced Private Information Retrieval (PIR) in beta, allowing users to query information associated with transparent Zcash addresses while reducing what servers can learn about their activity. The feature adds an additional layer of privacy to wallet interactions without changing the public nature of transparent transactions.
Announced on October 13, the beta functionality allows users to make private queries involving transparent Zcash addresses. Vizor also released version 0.0.60 on October 15, continuing development of its privacy-focused wallet infrastructure.
Foundry has been testing Zakura, an alternative Zcash full-node implementation, as part of its efforts to strengthen mining infrastructure and prepare for the NU7 network upgrade.
The initiative highlights growing interest in Zakura as an alternative node implementation for Zcash. Testing it in mining environments provides an opportunity to evaluate its performance, reliability, and compatibility with existing infrastructure.
ZCG approved three proposals during its October 12 meeting, supporting payment infrastructure and regional community initiatives.
Approved grants:
The 0xramp proposal focuses on expanding ZEC payment functionality and wallet integrations, while the initiatives in Mexico and Türkiye aim to strengthen community engagement and introduce new users to Zcash through events and educational activities.
Applications are now open for ZODL Summit 2027, scheduled for January 19–21 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The event will bring together a select group of Zcash contributors, developers, and ecosystem participants to discuss priorities, strengthen collaboration, and advance the mission of bringing shielded ZEC to billions of people.
The gathering continues a series of ecosystem-focused summits, including Zeboot 2024, Z|ECC Summit 2025, and ZODL Summit 2026 in Prague. These meetings have provided opportunities for contributors to exchange ideas, coordinate development priorities, and help shape the future of Zcash.