Hi everyone.
@_jon and I spoke this morning about the current state, timelines, and this proposal. Our goal was to clarify misunderstandings about the current delivery and estimated timeline.
On ZSAs
If you are not aware, Qedit built the cryptography and code for zcashd initially, but had to shift to zebrad, effectively doing two software projects. This was due to the decision to deprecate zcashd.
The NU6 timeline mentioned is related to the completion of their work. The code will be ready. It’s up to the ZF to merge the code, and auditing and testing can begin.
This doesn’t mean it will be activated on mainnet by then. We have to account for various moving pieces including the time to merge, audit, test and remediate safely. Additionally, we can not activate ZSAs on mainnet until zcashd is deprecated.
Net: Qedit is hitting its milestones despite the increased workload, but the likely target for activation on mainnet is Q1 2025 with NU7.
On Stables
Jon and I have committed to continued dialogue on the design and tradeoffs, and to share thoughts here. At a minimum, he and I have scheduled biweekly meetings to check in and the teams will continue to engage as well.
In the design, we agree that the goal is for Zcash to remain pristine but also to support people who want to opt-in to shielded stables with full knowledge of what information is being shared with the issuer. We also agree that this could be a game-changer, bringing a lot of people into Zcash because they want the privacy of a shielded stable with the reputation of Zcash.
But that’s just us and we need the community to collectively dig in and interrogate the design and ask hard questions. There are interesting and novel concepts. There is no need to wait to get that part of this started. The funding conversation can happen subsequently.