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
In a few days, the Zcash network will receive the NU6 update, bringing the Hybrid LockBox and other improvements.
However, like any major update, it is necessary to conduct a code review in advance to ensure that it complies with security and regulatory guidelines.
The company responsible for auditing Zcash is Least Authority, based in Berlin, with prominent experts working in favor of privacy.
The audit was divided into the following parts:
📅 Review Dates
September 2, 2024 - September 16, 2024: Initial Code Review (Completed)
September 17, 2024: Delivery of Initial Audit Report (Completed)
October 21, 2024: Verification Analysis (Completed)
October 21, 2024: Delivery of Final 2024 Audit Report (Completed)
👀Investigated Areas
Consistency of the implementation with the specifications
Protection against malicious attacks and other forms of exploitation
Balance violation
Potential loss of funds
Vulnerability within each component and whether the integration is secure
💻Code Quality
The quality of the code within the scope is high. The code was also well-organized and followed best practices. Least Authority was unable to identify any issues or suggestions related to code quality.
Suggestions were also made for minor improvements to ZIP 201 & ZIP 214 and other areas; however, the code is fully ready to be implemented and reviewed.
NU6 has barely arrived, and the ZIPs for NU7 have already been revealed! 🚀
Recently, the main Zcash account on Twitter/X revealed all (or most) of the improvements that NU7 will bring to the ecosystem next year.
Just to note, this post is for reference purposes; no decisions have been made yet regarding the inclusion of each of these ZIPs.
ZIP 254: The deployment of the NU7 network upgrade will determine which ZIPs will be included in NU7.
ZIP 226: Transfer and Burning of Zcash Shielded Assets
ZIP 227: Issuance of Zcash Shielded Assets
ZIP 230: Version 6 of the Transaction Format (Orchard)
ZIP 231: Memo Package
ZIP 233: Network Sustainability Mechanism: Burning
ZIP 235: Burning 60% of Transaction Fees
ZIP 2002: Explicit Fees
ZIP 2003: Prohibit Version 4 Transactions
ZIP 2004: Remove Consensus Dependency on Note Cryptography
4o
In this link, you will find the NU7 ZIPs process, including contributions, licenses, releases, and everything related.
Josh started the week by sharing a personal experience about meeting Craig, a simple yet curious and humble man. We learned that Josh met him during jazz classes, where Craig asked unexpected questions and made surprising connections with Josh.
Over time, Josh grew closer to Craig and admired how he dealt with his illness—with a smile and laughter, even during difficult times.
Using this analogy, Josh reflected on the current political divisions, contrasting them with the unity and mutual respect within the Zcash community. Despite its diversity, the community is united by a common goal.
Josh sees this diversity as a strength that contributes to a "collective melody," using it as a metaphor for the community's interactions and contributions, alongside the lessons he learned from Craig.
His message also serves as a tribute to Craig, thanking him for the lessons about "The Color of Jazz," symbolizing both the lessons Craig taught and the theme of this week’s update.
Progresso da ECC
Zashi 📱
Zashi Design
Finalized Transaction History Redesign
Making progress in design explorations for Home Screen and app navigation
Finalized designs for Transaction Success/Error screen
Working on getting the progress animations
Continued exploring ideas for Multiwallet and Multicurrency support
Ad hoc engineering edits and requests
Designed a Zashi marketing poster (page 27) for the BTCTKVR magazine right after @squirrel’s article.
Continued Onboarding redesign
iOS 🍎
Unique Installs: 3.82k
Total Downloads: 4.54k
AppStore Rating: 4.9*
Updated all tools and systems to the latest, latest SourceTree messed with the GitHub setup of the project, but we found a fix after troubleshooting
Custom Tooltip tweaked to be able to point downwards as well, used in Recovery Phrase screen explaining birthday
Adopted @yasserisa’s Spanish translations, troubleshot and resolved some project setup issues around localization and prepared internal build
Reviewed & Updated str4d’s Address Book encryption PR to be buildable again
Address Book encryption task
migration of unencrypted data → encrypted
remote storage activated & successfully tested for many scenarios
Working on redesign Send Confirmation screens with success/in progress/error states
Flexa testing
Sign out after reset Zashi
Total spendable balance instead of Total balance fixes
Token icon added
Android 🤖
Total Install Base: 2.32k
Total Installs (incl. Open Beta): 8.45k
PlayStore Rating: 4.710*
Finalized redesign of all Settings flows
App launch authentication finalized
Working on redesign SendConfirmation screens with success/in progress/error states
Adopted Yasser’s Spanish translations and prepared an internal build
Started working on Address Book encryption
Implemented authentication for Flexa purchases
Troubleshot user reported issues
Flexa:
Repeatedly tested and reported some issues to Flexa
Updated our implementation on the waiting PR
Waiting for 1.0.6 release from Flexa
Address book Wallet & SDK PRs prepared
Android Auto backup feature used for the Address Book cloud backup
PRs reviewed and tested manually + prepared automated tests
Few bug fixes in the wallet, mainly:
Address book Toast on the Send screen fixed
Fix for the broken navigation after the wallet deletion
Zcash Core
All NU7 Candidate ZIPs are published!
Zcash Shielded Assets (2 ZIPs)
Memo bundles
Explicit fees
Disallow v4 transactions
Remove the dependency of consensus on note encryption
NSM ZIPs from Shielded Labs:
Voluntary burning
Issuance smoothing + reissuance from burning
Burn 60% of transaction fees
Version 6 transaction format
Kris participated in a Twitter Space about the NSM.
Other 🌐
Over 1.8M ZEC is now in the shielded pools, an ATH!
@andrea, @peacemonger, @tonym, and Josh met in Austin for the week to discuss long-term ECC financial sustainability, user and market research for Zashi Vault, staffing and budgeting, the Z.cash website, and design options for things like Zashi multicurrency support and ZSAs, multi-wallet support, and other elements. ECC may have also visited the Mothership on election night and enjoyed a life-changing BBQ!
Various conversations with teams from Flexa and Maya in support of integration and co-marketing.
ECC next Z|ECC Summit, ECC’s bi-annual team + community planning, has been scheduled for the week of January 13th in Cancun, Mexico. Builders in the community are welcome to join us. The application will be up soon.
ECC’s hiring! Join them. [EDIT] They stopped taking applications for the marketing role for now as their received 500+ applications within a week.
Less than two weeks until the 2nd Zcash halvening!
Participants 👥
AmberBrianJasonMichaelAlex (ZF Resource)Deidra M (Notetaker)
Zcash en Español ✅
This proposal suggests a funding of $9,000 to increase Zcash's visibility in Latin America, specifically in Spanish-speaking regions, between October and December.
The team's focus will be on creating educational content, enhancing digital presence, and fostering community engagement through social media, YouTube, newsletters, and online events.
The proposal was approved by a vote of 4 to 1, with Brian, Amber, Jason, and GGuy voting in favor, and Michael voting against.
ZECPayServer: A Payment Processor for Zcash ❌
The ZEC Pay Server proposal seeks $85,000 in funding to develop a payment processor dedicated to Zcash. The features proposed include a point-of-sale system, payroll processing, crowdfunding capabilities, and an API for customized payment solutions.
The project is led by a team with eight years of software development experience, aiming to enhance Zcash transactions with a focus on privacy.
However, the committee decided to reject the proposal, citing a lack of demand for such a project. Similar initiatives, like Zgo and BTCPayServer, have already been funded but have had limited integrations and impact.
Board Game: Crypto Trader - Zcash Edition ❌
This proposal is valued at 140 ZEC (approximately $5,000) to develop a board game called "Crypto Trader: Zcash Edition."
The central goal of the game is to educate players about cryptocurrencies and Zcash’s privacy features.
The game would involve 2 to 6 players engaging in activities like resource management, transaction security, and defense against digital threats, all while promoting Zcash. The game would be limited to 100 high-quality copies, with an expected completion timeline of 6 to 12 weeks.
Some committee members discussed the proposal during a brainstorming session and were open to supporting it with a funding counterpart, provided there was strong community backing. However, the committee suggested that the team reach out to platforms like ZecHub, Free2Z, or Kickstarter to seek additional funding to cover half of the requested amount.