# Grant Application: ZAP1 Protocol Hardening and Zaino Integration **URL:** \ **Category:** Applications\ **Created:** [March 31, 2026, 1:47am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zap1-protocol-hardening-and-zaino-integration/55165 "2026-03-31T01:47:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zk\_nd3r](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/zk_nd3r/32/43927_2.png) [@zk\_nd3r](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/zk_nd3r)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 1:47am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zap1-protocol-hardening-and-zaino-integration/55165/1 "2026-03-31T01:47:19Z")
GitHub Issue: [ZAP1 Protocol Hardening and Zaino Integration · Issue #258 · ZcashCommunityGrants/zcashcommunitygrants · GitHub](https://github.com/ZcashCommunityGrants/zcashcommunitygrants/issues/258) Applicant: Frontier Compute / LiquidLV DAO LLC (Wyoming) Project Lead: zk\_nd3r Requested Amount: $18,000 USD over 3 months Category: Infrastructure Repository: [GitHub - Frontier-Compute/zap1: On-chain attestation protocol for Zcash. BLAKE2b Merkle tree anchored to Orchard transactions. 21 event types. Verified on 5 chains. · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1) (MIT) **The problem** Zcash has no standard for structured data in shielded memos. If you need private payments with public verifiability, you invent a custom binary format or write plaintext. Wallets and explorers cannot parse either without application-specific code. ZIP 302 defines the container but not application-layer payload types. **The solution** ZAP1 is a production-tested attestation protocol for Zcash. Open-source, MIT-licensed. Structured memo envelope, deterministic BLAKE2b hash construction with operator-configurable domain separation, Merkle tree commitment, on-chain anchoring. Application-agnostic. Operators register their own event types and personalization strings. Verification needs only the proof bundle and chain access. **Verify the claims** git clone [GitHub - Frontier-Compute/zap1: On-chain attestation protocol for Zcash. BLAKE2b Merkle tree anchored to Orchard transactions. 21 event types. Verified on 5 chains. · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1.git) && cd zap1 && bash scripts/evaluate.sh 14 end-to-end checks against live mainnet. Or run python3 conformance/check.py (14 protocol checks) and python3 conformance/check\_api.py (21 API schema checks). Full walkthrough: [zap1/EVALUATOR\_QUICKSTART.md at main · Frontier-Compute/zap1 · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/blob/main/EVALUATOR_QUICKSTART.md) **What already exists** All shipped before this application: - Reference implementation on [GitHub - Frontier-Compute/zap1: On-chain attestation protocol for Zcash. BLAKE2b Merkle tree anchored to Orchard transactions. 21 event types. Verified on 5 chains. · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1) (MIT) - Verification SDK on [crates.io: Rust Package Registry](https://crates.io/crates/zap1-verify) (Rust + WASM, 22 tests, 1 dep) - [GitHub - Frontier-Compute/zap1-js: ZAP1 Merkle proof verification SDK for JavaScript - WASM backend · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1-js) (19 tests) - Universal memo decoder on [crates.io: Rust Package Registry](https://crates.io/crates/zcash-memo-decode) (23 tests, zero deps) - 3 mainnet anchors, 12 leaves, 0 unanchored - [ZIP: Structured Attestation Protocol for Application-Layer Lifecycle Events (ZAP1) by Zk-nd3r · Pull Request #1243 · zcash/zips · GitHub](https://github.com/zcash/zips/pull/1243) - Test vectors for all 9 deployed event types - Browser verifier, attestation explorer, interactive simulator - Zaino gRPC validated on mainnet - FROST 2-of-3 threat model - ZIP 302 TVLV reference encoder/decoder - [zap1/conformance at main · Frontier-Compute/zap1 · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/tree/main/conformance) ) - 14 - protocol checks, 21 API schema checks, hash vectors, valid/invalid fixtures - [zap1/conformance/openapi.yaml at main · Frontier-Compute/zap1 · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/blob/main/conformance/openapi.yaml) for read-only surfaces - Reference clients: [zap1/conformance/clients/zap1\_client.py at main · Frontier-Compute/zap1 · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/blob/main/conformance/clients/zap1_client.py) , [zap1/conformance/clients/zap1\_client.ts at main · Frontier-Compute/zap1 · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/blob/main/conformance/clients/zap1_client.ts) - Consumer contracts for [zap1/conformance/contracts/wallet.md at main · Frontier-Compute/zap1 · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/blob/main/conformance/contracts/wallet.md) , [zap1/conformance/contracts/explorer.md at main · Frontier-Compute/zap1 · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/blob/main/conformance/contracts/explorer.md) , [zap1/conformance/contracts/indexer.md at main · Frontier-Compute/zap1 · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/blob/main/conformance/contracts/indexer.md) , [zap1/conformance/contracts/operator.md at main · Frontier-Compute/zap1 · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/blob/main/conformance/contracts/operator.md) - [zap1/conformance/VERSIONING.md at main · Frontier-Compute/zap1 · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/blob/main/conformance/VERSIONING.md) with stability guarantees - [ZAP1 API](https://frontiercompute.io/api.html) - CI green on all 7 repos. 124 tests + 55 automated checks. One production deployment is live on mainnet. The grant funds the protocol layer, not the deployment. **What the grant funds** Milestone 1: Protocol hardening + FROST design - 4 weeks, $6,000 Acceptance: in a clean-room reproduction using only the published spec and vectors (no reference implementation code). FROST migration doc published. spec v3.0 finalized. Milestone 2: Anchor hardening + operator tooling - 4 weeks, $5,000 Acceptance: retry/alerting working, operator runbook tested against fresh deployment. Milestone 3: Zaino scanner integration - 4 weeks, $7,000 Acceptance: Zaino-backed scanner validated, or working adapter plus integration guide published and tested against recorded compact-block data. Total: $18,000 / 3 months. Tranche-based. Each milestone evaluated before payment. **Who benefits** Any Zcash application that needs structured on-chain commitments: mining operators, staking services, merchant platforms, DAO governance, Crosslink validators. The verification SDK, memo decoder, and scanner pattern are reusable. **Related** - Live on-chain proof on Zcash mainnet: [https://pay.frontiercompute.io/anchor/history](https://pay.frontiercompute.io/anchor/history) - [ZIP: Structured Attestation Protocol for Application-Layer Lifecycle Events (ZAP1) by Zk-nd3r · Pull Request #1243 · zcash/zips · GitHub](https://github.com/zcash/zips/pull/1243) Full details in the GitHub issue linked above. ---
**Author:** ![zk\_nd3r](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/zk_nd3r/32/43927_2.png) [@zk\_nd3r](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/zk_nd3r)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2026, 7:13pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zap1-protocol-hardening-and-zaino-integration/55165/2 "2026-04-07T19:13:17Z")
Mainnet TX signed via 2PC-MPC and broadcast on Zcash: [https://blockchair.com/zcash/transaction/9ced54f695258ca0ead4e7188ad6e1eee489dbf8c7b89571e27ddca793bf239b](https://blockchair.com/zcash/transaction/9ced54f695258ca0ead4e7188ad6e1eee489dbf8c7b89571e27ddca793bf239b) ZIP 244 v5 sighash computed in TypeScript, verified byte-for-byte against librustzcash. BLAKE2b with 16 Zcash-specific personalizations. The full key never existed whole. ZAP1 protocol running continuously. 39 leaves, 4 mainnet anchors, 21 event types. Health check: curl [https://pay.frontiercompute.io/health](https://pay.frontiercompute.io/health) returns sync\_lag: 0. Six containers, Zebra 4.3.0, zero downtime since deploy. Embedded Orchard wallet builds and broadcasts anchor TXs without external wallet dependencies. Zcash Merkle roots verifiable on 5 chains (Ethereum mainnet, Arbitrum, Base, Hyperliquid, NEAR). The ETH mainnet verifier uses the EIP-152 BLAKE2b precompile at address 0x09, running Zcash-native cryptographic verification natively inside the EVM. Contract: [Address: 0x12db453A...e807057C1 | Etherscan](https://etherscan.io/address/0x12db453A7181E369cc5C64A332e3808e807057C1) . Tested Zebra PR #10170 (precompute coinbase) against our s-nomp pool on mainnet. GBT returns a valid template, no regressions in the response format pool software expects. Results posted on the PR. npm: 2,300 downloads/week across 7 packages. zcash-mcp merged into [GitHub - punkpeye/awesome-mcp-servers: A collection of MCP servers. · GitHub](https://github.com/punkpeye/awesome-mcp-servers) (84K stars). Cross-platform conformance suite with 39 test vectors for memo parsing. All code MIT licensed. 24 public repos: [Frontier Compute · GitHub](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute) . No cloud dependencies. Anyone can clone and run. ---
**Author:** ![zk\_nd3r](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/zk_nd3r/32/43927_2.png) [@zk\_nd3r](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/zk_nd3r)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zap1-protocol-hardening-and-zaino-integration/55165/3 "2026-04-11T16:54:54Z")
Progress update, April 11. Since the original application and the Apr 7 mainnet TX post, here is what shipped. Numbers from earlier posts are corrected below. **Deliverable status** | Deliverable | State | Verify | | --- | --- | --- | | ZAP1 API (mainnet) | Live | `curl https://api.frontiercompute.cash/stats` | | Merkle anchor (block 3,301,151, 12 leaves, 9 types) | Live | `curl https://api.frontiercompute.cash/health` | | EVM verifier contracts (ETH, Arb, Base, HL) | Deployed | [Etherscan](https://etherscan.io/address/0x12db453A7181E369cc5C64A332e3808e807057C1) | | NEAR anchor contract | Deployed | zap1-anchor.testnet | | Sui Move verifier | Deployed | published package | | FROST 2-of-3 threshold signing (Pallas, BLAKE2b-512) | Implemented | [frost\_signer.rs](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/blob/main/src/frost_signer.rs) | | Billing API (4 tiers) | Live | `curl https://frontiercompute.cash/tiers` | | ShieldedVault spec (5 properties) | Draft v0.1.0, CC-BY-4.0 | [shieldedvault-spec](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/shieldedvault-spec) | | Scaffolder (`npx create-shieldedvault`) | Published | [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/create-shieldedvault) | | GHSA (Zebra addr/addrv2 DoS) | Filed, confirmed by ZF, patch coordinating | GHSA-xr93-pcq3-pxf8 (under disclosure) | | librustzcash sighash hardening | PR open, mergeable | [#2278](https://github.com/zcash/librustzcash/pull/2278) | | Zaino UTXO materialization bug | Issue open | [#974](https://github.com/zingolabs/zaino/issues/974) | | x402 Zcash mechanism stub | PR open (2 files, 75 lines) | [#1990](https://github.com/x402-foundation/x402/pull/1990) | | ZAP1 ZIP draft | Open, converging toward ZIP 302 | [#1243](https://github.com/zcash/zips/pull/1243) | **Clarifications on FROST and chain verification** FROST(Pallas, BLAKE2b-512) is implemented in [frost\_signer.rs](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/blob/main/src/frost_signer.rs) using `reddsa::frost::redpallas` with `frost-rerandomized`. 2-of-3 threshold key generation, round 1/round 2 signing, and rerandomized Orchard SpendAuth signatures. The group public key maps to a Zcash unified address. Design doc and threat model: [FROST\_DESIGN.md](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/blob/main/FROST_DESIGN.md). Anchor operations are migrating from single-key to threshold signing using this code. EIP-152 BLAKE2b verification applies to the 4 EVM chains (Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Hyperliquid). NEAR uses a native BLAKE2b host function. Sui uses a Move implementation. The Merkle proof format is identical across all 6; the verification path differs by chain. **Corrections to earlier posts** Post 1 (Mar 31) said “21 event types” in the repo link title. Post 2 (Apr 7) said “39 leaves, 4 mainnet anchors, 21 event types, 2,300 dl/week.” Canonical counts are 1 anchor at block 3,301,151, 12 leaves, 9 tracked event types. Types 0x0A-0x0F are reserved for future use and [marked as such in the README](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/blob/main/README.md) as of today. The earlier numbers reflected development iterations that were not cleaned up before posting. This is fixed going forward. **npm downloads** | Package | Downloads/month | | --- | --- | | @frontiercompute/zcash-ika | 928 | | @frontiercompute/zcash-mcp | 741 | | @frontiercompute/openclaw-zap1 | 682 | | @frontiercompute/zap1 | 430 | | **Total** | **2,781** | Verifiable: `curl ``https://api.npmjs.org/downloads/point/last-month/@frontiercompute/zcash-ika`. These are raw npm registry counts, not filtered for CI or self-installs. **Ecosystem engagement** - GHSA on Zebra addr/addrv2 deserialization resource exhaustion. Confirmed by Conrado at ZF; patch coordinated and releasing. (GHSA-xr93-pcq3-pxf8, under coordinated disclosure.) - [zcash/librustzcash#2278](https://github.com/zcash/librustzcash/pull/2278): transparent sighash hardening. Found while building FROST-signed anchor transactions. - [zingolabs/zaino#974](https://github.com/zingolabs/zaino/issues/974): UTXO materialization bug. Found while tracing the ZAP1 scanner through Zaino gRPC. - [x402-foundation/x402#1990](https://github.com/x402-foundation/x402/pull/1990): Zcash shielded network mechanism stub (2 files, 75 additions). Not a full integration; the stub defines network config and payment proof types for future facilitator work. - [zcash/zips#1243](https://github.com/zcash/zips/pull/1243): ZAP1 ZIP draft, converging toward ZIP 302 compatibility. **What this enables for Zaino integration (grant scope)** Issue #974 and PR #2278 came from running the protocol on mainnet, not from speculative code review. The conformance suite at [zap1/conformance](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute/zap1/tree/main/conformance) has 14 protocol checks, 21 API schema checks, and hash vectors. Next milestone: conformance test suite for ZAP1 memo parsing against Zaino’s memo handling, using the 12 leaves already anchored as ground truth vectors. **Mapping to grant milestones** - M1 (Protocol hardening + FROST design): FROST signing on Pallas curve implemented with full threat model. Spec draft published. Conformance suite built (14 protocol + 21 API checks). Remaining: spec v3.0 finalization, FROST migration doc for operators. - M2 (Anchor hardening + operator tooling): Exponential backoff retry implemented and battle-tested (18 days of Signal monitoring logs show failure recovery). Remaining: operator runbook, alerting formalization. - M3 (Zaino scanner integration): Zaino gRPC validated on mainnet, issue #974 filed. Remaining: Zaino-backed scanner, integration guide. All source code MIT licensed at [github.com/Frontier-Compute](https://github.com/Frontier-Compute). Live stats at [api.frontiercompute.cash/stats](https://api.frontiercompute.cash/stats). ---
**Author:** ![ZCG](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/zcg/32/33712_2.png) [@ZCG](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/ZCG)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 1:12pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zap1-protocol-hardening-and-zaino-integration/55165/4 "2026-04-13T13:12:00Z")
Thank you for submitting your proposal. After careful consideration by the ZCG and a period for community comments on the forum, the committee has decided not to advance this proposal. We genuinely appreciate the work and dedication you put into your application and hope you’ll continue to participate and contribute to the Zcash community.