Happy start of the new year for the entire global Zcash community!
The winds of change, growth and optimism are blowing in Zcash, even though the horizon is gray, with storm clouds. For a couple of weeks I had in mind these reflections that I share with you today. Feel free to comment and contribute to what are, simply, my opinions about the future of Zcash from my point of view as a Latin American, and now residing in Europe.
I must confess that since 2022 I get very excited every time a Zcon is announced, as I feel it is a macro opportunity to find out the status of everything coming up for Zcash, as well as to put faces and names to those people we may have been interacting with for a long time.
And the Zcon VI announcement was no exception. I even thought: How cool! This year GTA VI videogame will be released, and in Zcash we will have a Zcon VI. Could it be a coincidence? Maybe…
And I also like the title of this new Zcon: The Synergy of Decentralization, because I understand, and so I perceive, that in this ship we are aiming for that: for more decentralization. The new members in the ZCG, the redistribution of development funds, the partnerships with projects that make Zcash more available to new users, and the support of community projects like Zcash Brazil and Zcash en Español seem to indicate this.
But, and please don’t give a negative connotation to my “but”, I feel we still have things to adjust in the sails of this ship. And this is where I allow myself to make some observations on the matter:
At Zcash, technologically speaking, we are doing well. Very well, to be honest. We are pioneers in the implementation of privacy with ZK proof; but at the level of dissemination and marketing, we are still lacking, and I think that is where there is a great opportunity for Zcash: at events! Conferences, meetups and hackatons, among many other types of events that are in the ecosystem. I feel that Zcash should have more active presence, and that even our own flagship event (The Zcon), should be an event where we go all out, a mixed event, face-to-face/virtual (as the Zcon3 and Zcon4 were), where attendees, invited media, new developers and community members can see and interact live, in person, with all those people who give life to Zcash.
I know this may sound to many like an unnecessary and even excessive expenditure of money. But those who think this way underestimate the power of networking, of face-to-face contact, of looking each other in the eyes, getting to know each other and interacting beyond an avatar and a nickname in the forum. Yes, I know it’s impossible for us to have a Zcon on every continent, and in every country, but how about having “mini Zcons” (Zcon Voices, perhaps) in different regions and in different languages, allowing physical interaction of Zcash members/users from all over the world?
Why do Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, and even Monero communities have events more frequently and in different countries, even getting specialized media coverage? Because they pay? Or because those projects have alliances/agreements (free tickets, media mentions, payments, put here whatever business strategy you can think of) to make noise?
Is it necessary to rethink a new system of Global Ambassadors or Zcash Clubs to make these events happen?
Zcash needs noise. Let’s make more noise. I feel that it is still not enough, although I don’t want to discourage us, we are doing well, but we need more! We need to be more, more often and in more places around the world. I think there is interest in Asia (Turkey) and Africa (Nigeria) to reach more users and businesses that use Zcash. In Europe (particularly in Spain, which is where I live now), people need Zcash, and many still don’t know about it, and they are not going to know about it if we don’t make an in-person event nearby for them to attend and find out about it.
Is my point understood? I applaud our Zcon, and I greatly congratulate the impeccable work done by the Zcash Foundation, Danika and company, but it is not enough. I think we need to make more noise, and not just settle for the virtual.
Everything adds up! From our personal social networks, from the ZecHub tutorials and wikis, from our Free2Z or YouTube profiles, everything contributes; and much more contribute with events and face-to-face activities.
And here, too, the dissemination and support work provided by the ZK AV Club is crucial.
Yes, this year the theme will be governance, to lead us to greater decentralization, and it is precisely decentralization that could allow us to decentralize events by regions of the globe: events in the USA, in Europe and the UK, in Asia and even Oceania. I think we still have a lot to explore ahead of us, and that’s exciting, at least for me.
Thank you for coming here and reading me. My intention is not to belittle anyone’s effort and work within Zcash. I simply express my vision and feeling, and that feeling is that we can all look for ways to make more noise, to make Zcash feel more “present”, and not as a cool project that once a year makes an event to talk about privacy.
Thank you all, and I remain very attentive to your comments. I’m sure we can come up with more ideas here. 