Hi @Jiggytom,
I appreciate the passion for Zcash - and I genuinely understand the frustration. That’s real, and it matters to us.
A few things worth clarifying:
On complexity. Zcash is one of the most cryptographically complex protocols in the space, zero-knowledge proofs, the Orchard shielded pool, the PCZT signing protocol, ZIP-32 key derivation. Adding a hardware layer (Ledger device) on top of that means everything needs to be implemented within strict memory constraints, then independently security-audited before it can ship. This isn’t a web app. A single mistake here puts users’ funds at risk - which is the opposite of what we’re trying to do.
On the team and the grant. The grant funds the integration work itself - it covers engineering time dedicated to Zcash. It is not money paid on top of existing salaries. And yes, Zcash is a top priority, but Ledger supports 100+ blockchains and the same engineers working on Zcash also respond to emergencies across the portfolio - including the NU6.2 soft-fork we handled within hours of being notified.
On progress. Everything is open source and publicly visible. You can track every PR, every commit, every decision in real time:
- GitHub - LedgerHQ/app-zcash · GitHub
- GitHub - LedgerHQ/ledger-zcash-utils: ZCash common tools · GitHub
- GitHub - LedgerHQ/ledger-live: Mono-repository for packages related to Ledger Live and its JavaScript ecosystem. · GitHub (filter by “zcash”)
On timing. Earlier we were targetting July end. But due to upcoming ecosystem changes - the Ironwood upgrade announced by ZODL, Tachyon, Valar Group and the Zcash Foundation means we are now pivoting to support Ironwood directly rather than shipping Orchard and immediately having to redo it. That’s the right call for users long-term, but it adds scope. We’re waiting on final specs from the ZODL team before we can commit to a revised delivery date.
I took over as PM on this project recently and I’m committed to keeping communication transparent and regular. We will post an update next month with a clearer timeline once the upstream specifications are finalized.
Regarding the LinkedIn screenshot: I’d ask that we keep this thread focused on the technical discussion rather than personal messages. Happy to continue the conversation here or via direct message.
– Abhi, Product, Coin & Blockchain Integration, Ledger