I already saw a topic from a group that wants to create stablecoins on ZSA. From what I understand, ZSA is like a smart contract creation layer.
How do I test ZSA in a test environment? I would like to try to create a game based on ZSA, it would be a way to learn programming and at the same time have fun and learn more about Zcash.
Does anyone have any idea of how to carry out tests with ZSA in a test environment, moreover how do I find out the commands, which programming language does ZSA require to be able to create smart contracts, stablecoins, NFTs and games using ZSA?
What is ZSA for and how do I test and create things or even software using ZSA?
The straightforward ZSA applications would be tokens and NFTs. I think some form of stablecoin is possible too with some caveats.
It’s still under development so to test it you will need to use code that’s sitting in a couple of PRs. QEDIT should be able to give specific pointers.
You don’t need a specific programming language, ZSA are not generically programmable like Ethereum. So you would need just wallet-like code that is able to generate transactions with ZSA commands in it. I think QEDIT is using a tool written in Rust that @Autotunafish linked above.
In addition to the testing tool linked, we’re working on a testnet for ZSA, which will make things more accessible for testing and experimenting.
As @conradoplg mentioned, ZSA only allow issuance and transfer. Programmability would be a super interesting capability but it’s not supported currently.
When can it be played with in a simple way (preferably on main)? By simple I mean like install something with a package manager and run a hello world program in under 30 minutes for a senior developer who has no specialized knowledge.
Stablecoins, everything else is noise (without programmability).
Here’s a slide by Zama from the Stablecoin Summit in Brussels. Private stablecoins are not only needed for retail, but also, and maybe more impactfully, by industry.
Even by only considering legal use-cases, I keep seeing demand estimates for zUSD(T) being massively underestimated. That alone will be an industry-wide killer app, even with the potential caveat of giving viewing key permissions to the respective stablecoin issuer.
for context, it’s something that has been mentioned by QEDIT in a previous thread somewhere.
for zUSDT, this would mean that Tether the company could issue their stablecoin will full shielded capabilities, 100% for any outside observer, but transparent for them. (same for USDC but replace Tether with Circle)
Although far from perfect from a privacy perspective, this might offer an opportunity for a trusted (by market/peg standards) issuer to deploy their stablecoin on zcash whilst remaining compliant enough in the eyes of regulators.
The choice (without zcash programmability) would essentially boil down to:
very likely have no trusted company deploy their stablecoin
have one with privileged transparency for that company.
Risks range from the issuer receiving a nice letter from a 3-letter agency and reveals those details, to access to the transparency feature being compromised and made public.
Of course, any new competitor can come in and try their luck with regulatory arbitrage and launch a stablecoin without such transparency privileges. From there it comes down to individual market participants choosing whether they’d like to use a trusted issuer with peephole, or a newcomer with no track record of redeemability without peephole.
