Mastering Zcash Video Series

[maxdesalle]

GitHub proposal: Grant Application - Mastering Zcash Video Series · Issue #263 · ZcashCommunityGrants/zcashcommunitygrants · GitHub

Hey everyone! I’m Max. Earlier this year I released Mastering Zcash, which to my knowledge is one of the most comprehensive educational pieces about Zcash, covering its technology, cryptography, economics, and governance. It took months of writing, and was kindly reviewed by both Zooko and Kris Nuttycombe when it was published. I received a lot of positive feedback over the past few months, and it was even generously recently translated into Spanish by César Oswaldo Navarro, a Zcash community member.

I’m now turning it into a professional video series and applying for a ZCG grant to help make it happen.

The pitch: 11 pieces of professionally produced content, 8 YouTube videos (8-15 min each) and 3 podcast episodes (~1 hour each), every single one specifically about Zcash. This is just the start, with the goal of building an ongoing Zcash video presence and finding a sponsor (aligned with Zcash’s values) that could reduce the reliance on grant funding and help make this sustainable.

The budget: $23,500. That’s $2,136 per piece of content. I’ve independently secured over $11,000 in professional production equipment (dual Sony FX30 cinema cameras, Shure SM7dB mics, studio lighting, teleprompter, the works) and none of that is in the grant. ZCG funds cover only my time, and a professional editor with thousands of hours of experience with a client list that includes Jon Youshaei.

The timeline: Production starts June 2026. Conservative milestones at July 31, October 31, and December 31. I expect to deliver ahead of schedule, but don’t want to rush through things as I want the quality bar to exceptionally high.

The accountability:

• $0 startup funding, I begin production before receiving a single dollar
• Milestone payments requested only after videos are publicly live on YouTube
• Bi-weekly progress updates right here on this thread
• If a deadline needs to move, you’ll hear about it before it happens, not after
• Any editing budget surplus gets reinvested into additional Zcash content

The content:

Titles are tentative and purposely made to catch people’s attention, the goal here is really to get Zcash in front of people who are currently not into it, not just offer content for existing Zcash community members. Podcast guests are tentative, and if it doesn’t work out due to scheduling issues etc., episodes with guests of equivalent caliber can be arranged.

1. “How Zcash Actually Works”
2. “zk-SNARKs Explained Like You’re 5”
3. “Zcash vs Monero: The Privacy Coin War Nobody Talks About”
4. “Why Quantum Computers Can’t Break Zcash”
5. “AI Will Deanonymize You. Zcash Won’t Let It.”
6. “The $11 Trillion Offshore Market Zcash Could Capture”
7. “FROST: The Wallet Tech That Makes Zcash Unhackable”
8. “Why Bitcoin Maxis Are Wrong About Privacy”
9. Podcast: “Why Billionaires Are Betting on Zcash” (ft. Will McEvoy)
10. Podcast: “The Cryptographer Who Designed Zcash’s Privacy” (ft. Sean Bowe)
11. Podcast: “Why Zcash Needs a Killer App” (ft. Josh Swihart)

Happy to answer any questions. Full details in the GitHub proposal.

[frankbraun]

Max has my full support with this grant application. He already showed that he can deliver high quality work with “Mastering Zcash” and at this price point this proposal seems like a no-brainer to me.

And honestly I would also like to see this videos and podcasts myself

[dismad]

Very cool, your timeline is quite ambitious have you already started this work? Either way, you have my full support, I’m bullish education. What age and/or grade level are you targeting? Also for the FROST section I hope you demo Zkool or ZF’s FROST server.

Good luck!

[maxdesalle]

Thank you @dismad!

@dismad

your timeline is quite ambitious have you already started this work?

Yes, filming itself starts in May but I have already started writing the scripts. The scripts themselves are adapted from Mastering Zcash, so there’s no cold-start research phase, which saves a lot of time.

@dismad

What age and/or grade level are you targeting?

The target is anyone interested in crypto who doesn’t yet understand Zcash, so not academic or overly technical, but not dumbed down either.

@dismad

Also for the FROST section I hope you demo Zkool or ZF’s FROST server.

Great suggestion! I have actually been thinking quite a bit about how to do the FROST video, as FROST is very underrepresented in the current “zeitgeist” of the community IMO and unlocks a lot of very interesting use cases. Will definitely look into doing a demo with a FROST server.

[Kenbak]

Love this, full support!

[ZCG]

@maxdesalle at the most recent meeting, ZCG voted to approve this proposal. Congratulations!

To keep the community informed, ZCG requests that you provide monthly updates via the forum in this thread.

Please check your forum inbox for a direct message from FPF with important next steps, including a link to the Milestone Payment Request Form and your unique validation code for submitting payment requests.

[maxdesalle]

Thank you so much! Very excited to deliver on this. I will not disappoint!

[maxdesalle]

Bi-weekly update

What I’ve done over the past two weeks:

1. Moved forward in the script writing process.
2. While not covered by this grant, all the audio/camera equipment has been delivered.
3. Have already started looking into potential sponsors to help make this sustainable after all the grant deliverables are met.

What I’m doing over the next two weeks:

1. Finish the first two scripts.
2. Get fully accustomed with the audio/video gear equipment to help ensure exceptional recording quality.

Will post the next update in two weeks. Always open to feedback in the meantime.

[maxdesalle]

Did a quick initial gear demo: https://youtu.be/YWUzh_VtrR8

[zerodartz]

quality looks good.

audio can be improved - bit low volume atm (most likely settings + possibly some post-processing).

light is good, but could be improved with placement of light to make it less flat and bit more 3d/contrasty possibly - watch some simple lighting tutorials on youtube

keep going

[maxdesalle]

Fully agree, received feedback from someone else that the audio should be higher indeed. Yeah lighting will be better, need to figure optimal placing so the background isn’t just black and is somewhat interesting. Thank you @zerodartz!

[Omegaonchain]

Love the crisp camera quality. Also, in addition to what Zerodart mentioned, one or two practical lights in the background would make a huge difference.

looking forward to the videos!

[maxdesalle]

Bi-weekly update

What I’ve done over the past two weeks:

1. Practically finished the first two scripts (“How Zcash Actually Works” + “Zcash vs Monero”).

2. Got up to speed with gear

3. Got a soft commitment from a sponsor in the Zcash ecosystem (!), which would allow the series to continue after the deliverables of this grant are met.

4. Attended Zcash Dev Summit 2026, and may have recorded something there

What I’m doing over the next two weeks:

1. Entirely record the first video.

2. Moved forward in the script writing process, start and finish the two next scripts.

Will post the next update in two weeks. Always open to feedback in the meantime.

[maxdesalle]

Bi-weekly update

What happened over the past two weeks:

1. Had wisdom teeth removal operation, which slowed me down more for the recording process than I had anticipated
2. First podcast episode with exclusive guest is ready to be published! Was recorded at the Zcash Dev Summit 2026 and it’s really nice, with a high caliber guest.
3. Finished three first scripts

What I’m doing over the next two weeks:

1. Actually entirely record the first video + maybe potentially second one as well, it’s time to ship

2. Publish first podcast episode (editor still needs to finish the thumbnail)

Will post the next update in two weeks. Always open to feedback in the meantime.

[maxdesalle]

Here we go! First episode, with @zooko, is live. He was kind enough to offer recording the episode in his hotel room in Rome at the Zcash Dev conference organized by ZF. The sound is not perfect as we recorded it on his room’s balcony and there was a hospital nearby, but the editor did a lot of work to optimize that and the microphones are by default really good already.

Feedback is more than welcome!

Maxime Desalle

[dismad]

Great job! ( I prefer the natural sound anyway )

[Uscmigs]

Would really love if you posted Audio to Spotify or podcasts in general… I consume a lot of my own content while I’m driving or doing other things around the house!

[jaykosai]

@maxdesalle

Mastering Zcash

I can spot Eli; coming from the starknet community and that shows how solid zcash is

[maxdesalle]

Bi-weekly update

First, apologies for late update! Had a very busy week, and you will understand soon why!

What happened over the past two three weeks:

1. Recorded first video! The editor is working on it at the moment. I’m currently waiting for him to get back to me on it before recording the next ones, as I may re-record if my bar for quality isn’t met.

2. Second podcast episode is coming out either this coming week, or early next week. There was unfortunately a sound problem during that episode (the sound of the podcast will be from the cameras, as opposed to the microphones which didn’t work), so I will be covering it using my personal funds and won’t including it as part of this grant.

3. Secured a sponsor! This falls outside the scope of this grant, but given I’m guessing a part of the rationale of granting me these funds was to help me get started and make this a sustainable activity, the fact that I will be able to continue doing videos / episodes moving forward without raising grant funding is I hope great news to you all. There will obviously be no ads for content covered by this grant, it will stay free of ads. The sponsor is also very aligned with the Zcash ecosystem, so it’s really a perfect fit.

4. I will be attending the ZODL conference in Prague, and have already secured two guests to come on the show. Trying to secure a third as we speak.

5. Moved forward on new script material for next videos.

What I’m doing over the next two weeks:

1. Record a second video (and maybe maybe a third one if timing works out!) and potentially re-record first video based on editor’s feedback.

2. Publish second podcast episode.

3. Prepare podcast recordings / travel for Prague.

Will post the next update in two weeks. Always open to feedback in the meantime.

[maxdesalle]

YES! This is great feedback and will definitely be done. In fact I should have done so from the start, and I’m sorry this wasn’t the case. Thanks for asking for it.