Onward. A Legacy in Motion: ECC Weekly

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Hi Zeeps,

Next week, a couple of dozen of us from ECC and the Zcash community will get together for the Z|ECC summit, or as it is sometimes referred to, Zeboot 2. While this name did change, the theme did not. Once again, we will come together, discuss, design and move Onward.

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I sign off these updates with “Onward.” every week. They are a reminder for me, and for you, that we are relentlessly pushing forward, mindful of the past, but focused on the future. Some of you know where that word comes from, but some may not.

In March 1993, Eric Hughs concluded the Cypherpunk Manifesto with this word. If you are unfamiliar with it, take a few minutes to read it. You’ll smile and nod your head, I promise.

It was written amid the first Crypto Wars. Not “crypto” as in cryptocurrency, but cryptography. The US government was fighting against using cryptography they couldn’t break and tried to outlaw the export of math, classifying it as munitions. Here’s a good summary of the cypherpunks and their history. Even if this is new to you, you might recognize some people involved.

The original cypherpunks left a legacy. Zcash was born from that legacy and we are still writing code, building on top of it. Sadly, the crypto wars are not over, and we are on the front line, even in the “land of the free." Our fight will is not easy.

At the summit, the ECC team will meet to discuss what we are uniquely equipped to deliver to the world. We stand on the legacy of many before us and are carrying it onward. Keeping this at the forefront of our minds strengthens our resolve, guides our roadmap, helps us shut out the noise, narrows our focus, and reinforces our mission to deliver economic freedom.

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“Cypherpunks write code. We know that someone has to write software to defend privacy, and since we can’t get privacy unless we all do, we’re going to write it. We publish our code so that our fellow Cypherpunks may practice and play with it. Our code is free for all to use, worldwide. We don’t much care if you don’t approve of the software we write. We know that software can’t be destroyed and that a widely dispersed system can’t be shut down.” - Cypherpunk Manifesto

We continue the legacy of that defiance, using speech through code to defend our human rights and for the betterment of mankind. It is both a commitment and a call to action. It means that we must ship. If we stop delivering, we die. The powers will only stop once this software’s use is ubiquitous, and even then, probably not. We are continuing what the cypherpunks started, a legacy still in motion.

If you write code for Zcash or alongside Zcash, you are part of this legacy in motion.

And if you don’t code, but you onboard, educate, build community, fight in our courts and government, or even just hold a bit of Zcash, you are also part of this legacy in motion.

A few super important things are happening in the Zcash ecosystem right now. One is how we pay for and govern our work. What we decide to do now will impact our legacy. Any funds distributed from Zcash must be done through a fair, decentralized mechanism that drives outcomes.

Another is where we focus our immense talent and limited resources. It will be a topic for the Z|ECC summit. More to come.

I am proud to stand beside all of you, building the work of the cypherpunks, bringing about the ability to transact privately. This is the most important work of my life. I hope you feel the same. We are legacy in motion.

This week was a short one with the holiday and people traveling, but this is what we were up to:

Zashi

iOS

Unique Installs: 2.06k
Total Downloads: 2.44k
Rating: 4.9k ★

  • finalized work on the Z|ECC Prototype app and preparing builds for testing
  • prepared a production release 1.1.3, which includes the transaction resubmission feature
  • identified and fixed a few bugs - missing memo, unread txs icon, syncing issue
  • started working on PRO-126 : Choose the best server by testing responses from multiple hosts

Android

Total Install Base: 1.34k
Total Installs: 3.36k
Rating: 4.438 ★

  • 1.1.3 release, which includes Show/Hide Balances feature, was pushed to Open Beta
  • Working on blocked on SDK snapshot release, migrating to a new maven namespace we will have control over
  • will move to working on the Changelog screen until the new credentials are available
  • working to reproduce a bug with a stuck sync and debugging with the Core Team - an issue on the zebrad and lightwalletd side has been identified (seems to be fixed), but we may need to implement an extra server check

Zcash Core

  • ZIP editing

    • Review meetings
    • Sankey diagrams for all of the dev fund ZIP drafts
    • Opened zips#867 to provide common functionality for the various deferred dev fund proposals, made suggestions for how to adopt this as a base in the relevant PRs

  • Reviews

  • Updates

    • Android SDK to latest librustzcash revision (zcash-android-wallet-sdk#1510).
    • Swift FFI to latest librustzcash revision (zcash-light-client-ffi#146).

  • Support

    • Gemini transaction issue

  • More digging on sonatype (Maven central) SDK deployment issues, and contacted support.

  • Testing the ZIP-321 functionality in the Z|ECC Summit Zashi build

Other

Speaking of legacy, Zooko left one at ECC. Today, we announced he is leaving the Bootstrap ED role and the board of directors to focus on something new within the “Zcash universe.” Legend.

I withdrew my ZIP in favor of better models and provided feedback on the other (as of then) outstanding ZIPs. Since then, the community has coalesced around a common set of ideas with different parameters. Lfg!

Kris and I met with a group of community members working on a common set of questions for a final round of polling across the community. Look for something soon!

The Bootstrap BoD met for our quarterly meeting. Have I ever told you all about how great they are? :slight_smile:

Gemini let us know that sending to TEX addresses is up and running.

We signed a partnership agreement with Flexa. More on that later.

We will participate in a Zcash meet-up hosted by Edge next Thursday. Come by and say hello!

That’s it for the week.

Let’s go write some history!

Onward.

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Josh, you are now the leader representing Zcash.

I trust in your leadership and will be watching.

Thank you :slight_smile:

And, Zooko, thank you for all your hard work for Zcash.

Please continue to support Zcash from outside as well.

I am your eternal fan!!!

Thank you :slight_smile:

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Ok, folkz.

The weird truth is, I’ve never felt a real strong sense of belonging here. This was a problem when I worked at ECC, which I first noticed when @joshs would talk about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, and it’s a feeling that has only increased over time. It’s a feeling that’s been especially strong for me this year, 2024.

For a while, there’s been a lot of alienation going on in this “ecosystem” or “community” or whatever you want to call it. Now, the power games and manipulation are causing the gap between the upper echelon and the rest of us to become a deadly moat, impossible to cross.

At this point, there are many who don’t dare to speak up, out of fear of retaliation or humiliation from, what is being perceived as, the Inner Zircle. Many have simply lost our will to continue fighting this growing gap. Sadly, we’ll never know what could have been, had we not lost so many from the Zeal.

And so, here I am again. Sitting on the outside, looking in.
Being told that my mom wouldn’t care about my efforts.
That’s not something I ever expected to read on these castle walls.

edit: I’ve got nothing but love for Swihart (and you know this!) and I do realize that some of you will be surprised to read that I feel included in his statement towards “trolls and naysayers and self-righteous complainers and money grabbers and butt scratchers.” These are two facts.

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You’re a star, contributing so much to this project for so long. Much respect.

I didn’t intend to offend you, or others who express legitimate concerns. We need the space to challenge one another openly and with civility. No-one is above criticism.

Let’s tear down the walls.

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Has Gemini also deployed TEX addresses?

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They support sending to them

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I removed those sentences. If you saw yourself in them, then I used the wrong words. Love and peace.

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I was very clear on what that paragraph was about and I agree with it. I also agree with Ryan’s point that many were lost in the discussion.

And people don’t just want to turn this world upside down and make it a better place. Everything is very polyamorphic. I am also a money grabber. I literally need it to live, everyone needs money and that is an undeniable fact. And we have not reached the level of Buffett or Gates to be philanthropists and think all day long “why the hell did all this money fall on me, maybe I should do something special for the world. Why don’t I build a machine that turns urine into water?”. And we haven’t even reached the level of Nawal Ravikant, where you have hundreds of projects like Zcash in your pocket and even if a few of them shoot up once every 5 years, it’s enough to tweet aphorisms because you’ve already made it.

We all literally need money here to be able to support our families. By the way some have already lost them because of their fix ideas. And many are throwing ALL their free money into ZEC continuing to believe it’s the best idea for transforming world’s money. When the price goes down and down, we are all forced to scratch the butt. That’s the whole problem and it’s a constant internal conflict. Half of me says, “Wake up idiot, you were a millionaire and now you’re literally a nobody with nothing, all because you believed in an idea that will never be accepted”. The other half says, “It’s all or nothing. Our lives have to have meaning. Even trying to get Zcash to where we want it to be is worth living. It’s a lot more meaningful than giving it up for a piece of foreign land and dying in a foxhole, something you’re persuaded to do every day by the ‘good’ authorities.”

All arguments and misunderstandings arise only because for many of us our own lives are already at stake.

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Thanks, boss <3

Thinking about this today and it reminded me of something someone told me recently, that standup comedians are only allowed to survive in the public spotlight as long as they don’t punch downward.

We’re happy to cheer you on while you’re on stage but we can’t always tell where you’re aiming from down here.

Onward, together.

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As famous as this manifesto may be, it is unnecessarily alienating so many critical cypherpunks profiles. The cypherpunk community is comprised of a lot more than coders, although evidently coders are a pillar of it.

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I feel you. I haven’t written code in years. I tried to capture that here:

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