The Coinholder Test Poll Is Now Open
Zcash coinholders can now cast their vote for their favorite mobile wallet. The poll will remain open until Block 2,878,135, which is expected around 7:00 AM UTC on Saturday, April 5. Results will be shared once the poll closes.
Election URL:
https://zecvote.zone/election/92b989a39c0e679299872c619faf9bdb5a031204d4508b50bc7bbf0217829703
If you’re using the desktop app, follow these steps to cast your vote:
- Open the voting app.
- Click “New” to start voting in a new election.
- Enter the election URL and your seed phrase.
- Save the election file when prompted.
- Click “Download Blockchain Data.” Once it finishes processing, your voting power should appear.
- Go to the “Vote” tab, select your choice, and enter the number of votes you want to cast.
- You should see a confirmation message once your vote has been successfully submitted.
If you’d prefer to delegate your vote to ZecHub or Shielded Labs, you can use the following addresses:
ZecHub: zvote1um3uu4xg6f84s0gvxqkk2p9nrsqj6r9mh48jt0fnzfmvwr40k6dvwwmm6nw5jkhsvz4jw7majux
Shielded Labs:
zvote1tm7scqt9n3n3avngdpeu6pajecv9kwunytu40wrv5rh4k65spk77k526q5dlsdspppy2cyeds42
A list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is available below and will be updated as new questions come in.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the Coin Voting 2.0 Test Vote?
The Coin Voting 2.0 test vote is a trial run of a new coinholder voting system developed by @hanh that allows users to participate using shielded ZEC held in the Orchard pool. It gives Zcash holders a chance to try out the voting process and get familiar with how it works before it’s used for real governance decisions. This test vote is just for fun and asks participants to choose their favorite mobile wallet.
Am I eligible to participate?
To be eligible to participate, you must have moved ZEC into the Orchard pool or refreshed your notes during the registration period that ran from Block 2,663,885, which occurred around September 30, 2024, to Block 2,870,670, which occurred on Saturday, March 29.
Why is there a registration period?
The registration period exists because it would be too computationally intensive to scan every Orchard note ever created. “Proof of balance” relies on the halo2 circuit, which, like Orchard itself, requires the wallet to compute witness data. Allowing participation from all Orchard notes since inception would mean downloading and processing the entire chain, which involves several gigabytes of data and would be impractical for most users. Limiting it to a registration window keeps the process efficient and accessible.
Is there a minimum amount of ZEC needed to vote?
Yes, you’ll need at least 0.01 ZEC to vote.
Can you provide an overview of the election process?
The Coin Voting 2.0 application differs from the previous voting system that was integrated into YWallet. This is a standalone application that is not currently integrated into any wallet, meaning users will need to download it separately. Each election consists of four steps: creation, hosting, voting, and auditing. The creator defines the vote parameters, including the question, answers, and eligible block range. The host runs the election logistics, providing a trustless online service for voters to submit ballots. Voters participate using their Orchard funds, with the option to delegate votes. Finally, auditors verify the results once the election concludes by using a revealed seed phrase to validate the ballots and report the final counts.
Where can I download the Coin Voting 2.0 app?
Is there a demo or walkthrough that explains how the voting process works?
Yes, check out this video explainer from @dismad of ZecHub:
Is there a mobile version of the app?
Yes, Hanh recently released a beta mobile version of the voting app through YWallet. It’s available now on iOS via TestFlight and on the Android Beta store. While we haven’t tested it yet ourselves, our understanding is that it’s functional and can be used for this test poll. It’s expected to be fully available in production by the next poll in mid-April.
iOS
Android: Be sure to download the beta version
Here’s a demo on how to use the mobile version
Are there any technical resources available for those who want to understand how the application works under the hood?
Here are a couple resources that explains how the mechanism works:
Why does the app show more votes than the amount of ZEC I hold?
In the Coin Voting 2.0 system, the number of votes you receive corresponds directly to the amount of ZEC you hold. The system is designed to assign votes in whole numbers by multiplying your ZEC balance by 1,000. So, if you have 10 ZEC, you receive 10,000 votes. This approach makes vote counting and display simpler, while still preserving the proportional relationship between holdings and voting power.
Is it possible for the voting authority to manipulate votes?
The Coin Voting 2.0 system is designed to be secure and tamper-resistant, but like any system, it depends on how it’s deployed. Votes are submitted to a dedicated voting blockchain that runs using the CometBFT consensus engine. This blockchain is maintained by a set of validators, which are called voting authorities.
If there’s only one validator, a malicious operator could suppress or selectively include votes. However, when deployed with at least four independent validators, the system becomes resistant to manipulation—as long as two-thirds of them are honest, no single party can control the outcome. This approach ensures that votes are collected and finalized through a consensus mechanism, rather than relying on a centralized server.
How many voting authorities are there for the test vote?
There is only one voting authority for the test vote, but that’s intentional—this is a trial run where the results don’t matter. The purpose is simply to test whether people can use the system as designed. For this vote, we’re using a single-server, single-node setup, which is the simplest possible configuration. For the next poll in mid-April, which will focus on governance issues, there will be four designated voting authorities.
