New Shielded Dialogues Episode #5 - now on YouTube, iTunes and Spotify.
This episode covers a spicy discussion between @str4d and @shielded-nate, hosted by @aquietinvestor live from the 2025 Prague Z|ECC summit, about whether the transparent Zcash pool should be deprecated.
They delve into the technical challenges, privacy implications, and potential impacts on the Zcash ecosystem if the transparent pool were phased out. They also address the quantum computing threat to long-term storage security, along with strategies for building community consensus while factoring in the overall timeline for the process.
A big thank you also goes to @zerodartz, @squirrel and @vito behind the scenes for the exceptional production quality.
What are your thoughts on deprecating the transparent pool? Do you think it’s time to go fully shielded, or are there reasons to keep it? Share below!
It’s a bit 50/50 as both sides have sound arguments.
But yes it would seem that the path of least resistance would be to hike the fees on the transparent side (helping to bootstrap the NSM at the same time) and see where it goes from there.
I agree. I am, or rather was, a proponent of the transparent pool because I believe that UX problems can be solved at the wallet level while maintaining flexibility at the protocol level. However, after hearing the arguments put forward by str4d and Nate, I am no longer so sure that this is the right position to take. For example, I didn’t know beforehand that maintaining the transparent pool going forward would require a relatively large amount of engineering effort, which could logically lead to delays in the further development of the shielded pool.
The future threats to long-term storage posed by quantum computers are also a compelling argument for at least starting to consider how to deprecate the transparent pool. More shielded hardware wallet support and DEX integrations would also be arguments in favor of this. Or pushing other exchanges to follow Gemini’s lead in integrating shielded withdrawals and unified addresses.
@zooko has occasionally presented arguments in favor of the transparent pool, particularly on X. I would be very interested to hear his current opinion.
