Sooner or later, because of a revolutionary set of applied sciences — constructed on the ideas of honest entry and decentralization — humanity will expertise higher freedom and safety than at any level in historical past. Every particular person will get pleasure from self-sovereignty, and collaboration and creativity will probably be at an all-time excessive.
In 30 years, there will probably be fewer centralized gatekeepers to resolve who can take part in society. There will probably be fewer king makers to find out who wins and who loses.
On this period — the Golden Age of freedom and self-expression — schooling and alternative will probably be accessible to everybody, innovation will thrive, privateness will probably be regular and anticipated, and the individuals (and governments) of the world will agree {that a} vibrant society relies on respecting and upholding human dignity, safety, and consent.
That is ECC’s imaginative and prescient for the long run; and for our half, we’ll empower financial freedom for billions with a good, open forex, accessible to each particular person on the Web.
Zcash as we speak
Right now is Zcash’s birthday. Launched on Oct. 28, 2016, Zcash was the primary undertaking of any type to efficiently use zero-knowledge proofs. Earlier this yr, Electrical Coin Co. (ECC) applied Halo — a brand new and improved zero-knowledge proving system — to take away reliance on advanced setup ceremonies.
The efficiencies constructed into this improve made potential — for the primary time ever — non-public, trustless digital money funds on cellphones. Halo is now being examined in different tasks for its privateness and scalability advantages; and in a partnership with Protocol Labs, Filecoin Basis, and Ethereum Basis, ECC is collaborating with these groups to unlock recursion in Halo and discover how the expertise is likely to be used within the respective ecosystems. (Additionally, there’s a multi-million-dollar pool for builders and groups who’re enthusiastic about including utility for the Filecoin and Zcash chains.)
Subsequent yr, in 2023, ECC will launch a fully-supported industrial cell pockets within the iOS and Android app shops with the rationale that Zcash adoption will develop when (1) the consumer expertise is superb — straightforward and quick — and (2) customers are given compelling options and capabilities that help a rising variety of use instances. That is aligned with our North Star, a dedication to assist construct a world-class consumer expertise for ZEC, the Zcash token.
In 2023, we’ll additionally make a proper advice to maneuver Zcash from proof of labor to proof of stake. That is in the end a Zcash neighborhood determination, however we consider the advantages far outweigh the dangers, and we’re trying ahead to the dialogue.
There’s a lot extra to be enthusiastic about, equivalent to a posterity fund proposal, ongoing third-party work on Zcash shielded property, a Rust-language Zcash node being constructed by the Zcash Basis, persevering with decentralization and improvement funding with the current formation and momentum of the Zcash Group Grants group, and a few spectacular Zcash partnership bulletins on the horizon.
We’ve solely simply begun.
ECC’s 30-year plan
Empowering billions of individuals around the globe with financial freedom is a monumental process, and it’ll require many mission-aligned individuals and groups to decide to it. Beginning with a 30-year aim in thoughts, ECC has labored backwards to conceive a path for our contribution towards attaining it. There are more and more extra methods and contributions to Zcash from throughout the ecosystem, and we sit up for collaborating to appreciate our collective imaginative and prescient of the long run.
For apparent causes, the roadmap is extra detailed within the close to future.
2052: Zcash for billions
Within the yr 2052, each particular person on the Web could have the power to acquire and use Zcash in accordance with their very own preferences. Financial freedom requires non-public digital money that’s equitable, obtainable, permissionless, privateness defending, and resilient; and we (not simply ECC, however many Zcash neighborhood contributors) are laser-focused on constructing the best possible answer. We’ve come a good distance since 2016, however the expertise must evolve, beginning as we speak, to scale to billions of customers.
This, after all, will not be the finish aim. It’s a milestone. We envision Zcash as a crucial part to financial freedom for generations to return.
2032: Ship a world-class UX for ZEC
Objective
ECC could have delivered a world-class consumer expertise for ZEC (the Zcash token) — a good and open forex inside a framework that protects freedom, dignity, consent, and safety.
Success standards for 2032
- Utilizing ZEC throughout ECC and third-party functions is very easy customers don’t have to consider it. It’s not less than as straightforward to make use of ZEC because it was to share pictures and movies in 2022 world-class apps, equivalent to Tik Tok or WhatsApp.
- ZEC customers: The variety of precise human customers — individuals who have bought, bought, despatched or acquired ZEC within the earlier 24 months — is 1 billion throughout the globe.
- Zcash is a top-five cryptocurrency by market cap.
- Sentiment: Zcash customers are prone to advocate Zcash to a buddy or colleague. That is measured in a Internet Promoter Rating (NPS). For Zcash, the NPS is ≥ 50 yearly.
- Decentralization: As a result of decentralization is necessary to consumer safety, censorship-resistance, and undertaking longevity, not less than 10 long-term, viable organizations are actually targeted on Zcash.
2025: Proof of stake and interoperability
Three years from now, we could have delivered an ECC-built and -supported cell pockets on prime of an interoperable Zcash protocol that leverages a proof-of-stake consensus. Options in incremental pockets releases will probably be based mostly on Zcash consumer suggestions, business suggestions, and market analysis. The pockets will help core PoS and interop use instances.
Objective
Zcash could have transitioned from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. There will probably be robust help for Zcash interoperability and broad entry to ZEC throughout DeFi and CeFi. At this level, we anticipate robust demand for Zcash/ZEC among the many “early majority.”
Success standards for 2025
- ZEC customers: The variety of customers has doubled from the earlier 16-month interval, and the ECC pockets is seeing 1 million month-to-month lively customers.
- Zcash is a top-10 cryptocurrency by market cap.
- Sentiment: The Zcash Internet Promoter Rating (NPS) is ≥ 50 yearly.
- Decentralization: No less than 5 long-term, viable organizations are targeted on Zcash.
Late 2023: UX foundations
By the shut of 2023, the ECC cell pockets will probably be obtainable within the iOS and Android app shops with network-level privateness and prompt sync — offering pace, comfort, and higher entry. That is crucial for a world-class UX for ZEC and lays the inspiration for rising ZEC customers.
Objective
Ship an open-source pockets that’s obtainable on Apple and Android shops and properly supported by ECC; enhance the ZEC UX together with community privateness and prompt sync; enhance the Zcash tech stack (pockets, SDK, lightwalletd, protocol) adequate to double customers by the tip of 2025.
Success standards for 2023
- Customers: The variety of customers has doubled from the earlier yr.
- Sentiment: The Zcash Internet Promoter Rating (NPS) has been ≥ 50 for the final 12 months.
- Decentralization: No less than 4 long-term, viable organizations are targeted on Zcash.
The following 4 months: Set up new baseline
ECC’s No. 1 precedence in the mean time is updating the Zcash protocol and our pockets SDKs to assist third-party suppliers repair pockets syncing points. An elevated on-chain transaction load has resulted in unacceptable sync instances for a lot of on a regular basis customers, and ecosystem companions are additionally affected. We’re targeted — throughout groups — on assuaging these points as quickly as potential, so Zcash customers have an expertise they anticipate and deserve. Our speedy goals are centered on working with third-party wallets which might be constructed on the ECC SDKs (Edge, Nighthawk, and Unstoppable) to:
- Guarantee customers can spend their funds (funds which might be already synced after they open their pockets)
- Guarantee customers can obtain and spend new incoming funds at a fee of a month’s price of transactions in a single hour
- Implement updates which offer customers readability on syncing progress
- Guarantee none of these wallets are impacted by frequent crashes or inconsistent conduct (equivalent to failing to show some already synced transactions), nor do they require work-around behaviors because of the ECC SDK
Different success standards for this era
- ECC groups agree on the definition or proxy for international ZEC consumer counts.
- Analysis and engineering have outlined and communicated a revised three-year roadmap inclusive of consumer development goals, proof of stake, and interoperability.
Prioritization and attaining goals
To ship on all this necessary work, ECC has laid out a course of that mandates our management meets each 4 months to revisit technique and roadmap, evaluating knowledge for the present interval and reviewing waypoints. Useful house owners (for instance Steven Smith in Engineering) will probably be chargeable for useful roadmaps which might be aligned with the strategic roadmap and for figuring out the place they want cross-team help. Every success standards will probably be owned by an assigned useful proprietor to trace and decide how we (all of ECC) can align to finest meet the target.
Empowering financial freedom
“Zcash for billions” is a change-the-world imaginative and prescient. Possibly that’s cliché, however as we speak, too many individuals are pressured to make use of discriminatory, poorly managed, and insecure centralized entities to retailer and switch cash digitally. Too many individuals are pressured to dwell inside fiat programs which might be managed by governments that don’t have their constituents’ finest pursuits at coronary heart. Most cryptocurrencies don’t present ample privateness and safety protections for many use instances, and so they expose customers to surveillance which may result in exploitation, manipulation, and seizure.
Right now, billions of individuals on this planet shouldn’t have entry to a good and open forex or supporting monetary providers. We construct and help Zcash to drive higher financial freedom and alternative for everybody.