Eleventh-hour question about the Zcash Foundation’s current call for grant proposals: Would submissions under a dedicated pseudonym be reasonably considered?
I think here to pull a Satoshi Nakamoto: Click the “New Identity” button, and create a project under a dedicated pseudonym. I would plan to stick around for longer than Nakamoto did. But I wish to devote one persona to one project, without any connection to my other past or present work (let alone my “real-life” identity).
There is something powerful about the Nakamoto model of creation. It wraps the birth of a project in myth and mystery. But paradoxically, it also makes the project more rational by force-focusing attention on the project in and of itself—with no personal context for irrelevant value-judgments, and no “the guy who previously did X” bias in advance expectations (whether positive or negative). Every founder of a new idea leaves a personal imprint on the idea. But Satoshi Nakamoto is Bitcoin; about Nakamoto, we know nothing else.
I have a vision—something I want to see made real; something which would make the world a better place. It pertains to the Zcash ecosystem, or more precisely, it would create a new ecosystem for a cryptocurrency with strong privacy protections. But unlike Nakamoto’s creation of Bitcoin, my idea is not something I could easily monetize for myself; and my personal circumstance does not permit me to devote the requisite months of full-time effort to such an endeavor.
In other words, my idea seems an exact fit for the current round of grants. I do reasonably think that within the timeline of a grant, I could lay the technical and social foundation for what would eventually become a community-supported project.
Both in its principles and its practical possibilities, Zcash seems perfect for such a strictly pseudonymous project. “Funds will be disbursed to approved projects in ZEC currency, in a lump sum.” ACK. But then implicitly rises the reasonable and obvious question: How do we know you will do what you say?
Team background and qualifications
Summarize pertinent background of the team member(s). Optionally, attach CVs.
I ask: If otherwise meritorious, will a proposal be seriously considered if not accompanied by such things?
If not, I would prefer to keep my idea to myself for now. Maybe I will find another way to do it—someday. Maybe not.
If yes, then I will have an informal description of my idea in the issue tracker by sundown.
Thank you for your time.