Hello everyone,
I’ve been here since genesis day on October 28, 2016, and I even CPU-mined on day one using nheqminer on my processor I’ve been a holder and follower of this project from day one. Despite the current price action, I still firmly believe we’re on the right track, because Zcash embodies what Satoshi would have liked Bitcoin to become if he had stuck around long enough financial privacy by default with shielded zk-SNARKs.
That said, the quantum threat is accelerating: major breakthroughs in fault tolerant qubit coupling, error-rate reductions on new chips, and record investments all point to a future where today’s cryptography could be at risk. As a long time Bitcoiner, the only reason I haven’t gone “all in” on Bitcoin (besides holding ZEC) is the looming possibility that a powerful enough quantum computer could one day break current cryptography and send everything to zero. The best thing Zcash could do next development-wise is to adopt quantum-resistant primitives following NIST’s post-quantum standards like CRYSTALS-Kyber and Dilithium and plan a smooth migration, which would once again lead the entire crypto industry just as we pioneered zk-SNARKs back in 2016.
Not only that, but I have no doubt that major stakeholders would double their bet on Zcash and we could see a big influx of funds coming over from BTC and ETH. We should also consider adding protocol primitives to enable seamless interoperability with Ethereum and its layer-2s with the clear caveat that in the event of a quantum attack bridged ZEC [ In case of quantum threat the bridge could get disabled] could be at risk because having Zcash available on all major DEXs across Ethereum ecosystems would be a game changer.
Our best marketing pitch is that Zcash is a better Bitcoin: proof-of-work consensus, a fair launch with no ICO pre-mine, groundbreaking innovation as zk-SNARK pioneers, and the same 21 million supply model buying ZEC today is like buying Bitcoin at $35. This project is just too great to stay stale in terms of public interest; we need to stir things up and rally the community around quantum resistance, cross-chain integration, and the message that Zcash is the next generation of digital cash.
I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts