Zcash Metrics and Analytics Dashboard

Community Grants Minor Grants
1

I recently submitted a proposal for a Minor Grant to build a basic Zcash Metrics and Analytics Dashboard. This is something that many Zcashers, including myself, have wanted for a long time. Here are the details :slightly_smiling_face:

What is the name of your project?

Zcash Metrics and Analytics Dashboard

What USD ($) amount are you requesting?

$25,000.00 USD

Are you requesting payment up front or upon completion of the grant?

I am happy to receive the grant funding after the grant deliverables have been met.

Describe your grant.

This grant is intended to fund the launch of a Version 1.0 Zcash real time data and analytics webpage. Currently, many important Zcash metrics are available from Messari and Coinmetrics, but they are behind paywalls. This Minor Grant will fund an open data website freely providing some metrics that are currently only available from Messari and Coinmetrics, and it will feature some metrics that are not available anywhere at all to my knowledge.

I think that the Zcash community should not depend on 3rd parties for data about our network. The data should be freely, easily accessible and the code to produce the relevant graphs should be open source.

In the spirit of the ‘Minor Grants’ program, it is my intention to use this Minor Grant build this Version 1.0 and then get community feedback. Then, if there is demand for a Version 2.0, I would be happy to submit another grant to build a Version 2.0 with new features and improvements.

Key Deliverables:

  • List item Shielded Pool Size charts as a function of time/block number, for several time ranges (e.g all time, last year, month, day etc.). There will be charts of both aggregate shielded ZEC across all pools, as well as individual pools.

  • Block time spacing charts and analytics (useful for identifying possible irregular miner behaviors such as ‘selfish mining’/delayed block propagation.). These will include both raw data and statistics to identify anomalous miner behavior. Anomalous miner behaviors include things such as incorrect block time stamps and broadcasting mined blocks with a delay or only to select peers.

  • Various Shielded Transaction Metrics: Totals over time of each tx version/type, tx sizes in bytes, tx number of inputs and outputs.

  • Mining difficulty as a function of time/block number, for several time ranges (e.g all time, last year, month, day etc.). Will also include the cost to launch a successful 51% attack as a function of time.

All of the above features will be delivered before requesting payment.

This version 1.0 will be a simple light weight website intended to load quickly, unlike most block explorers.

Full support will be provided for at least 1 year.

Please introduce the team that will be responsible for delivering the grant.

One-man team: Aristarchus. I am a long time Zcasher and a big believer in the Zcash goal to empower everyone with sound, private money they can fully control. I have many years of programming and ‘data science’ experience, and have previously created Zcash metric plots that were well-received by Zcashers on Twitter. Here is an example:

The Zcash Metrics and Analytics Dashboard will feature many metrics and graphs similar this one, updated in real time with each newly mined Zcash block :slightly_smiling_face:

6 Likes
2

Just curious, Have you submitted your proposal before posting here in the forum?
For all I know the minor grants application deadline ended 2 days ago.

It’s a very nice project tho.

3

Thanks!

Yes I submitted it 2 days ago just before the deadline.

4

Some questions:

  • What is the tech stack going to be?
  • What have you built previously?
  • Why not contribute to: https://zcashblockexplorer.com which is already listed on Zcash Explorer - Z.Cash?
  • Who is this information useful to (e.g. what target audience are you actually building this for)?:
  • Block time spacing charts and analytics (useful for identifying possible irregular miner behaviors such as ‘selfish mining’/delayed block propagation.). These will include both raw data and statistics to identify anomalous miner behavior. Anomalous miner behaviors include things such as incorrect block time stamps and broadcasting mined blocks with a delay or only to select peers.
  • Various Shielded Transaction Metrics: Totals over time of each tx version/type, tx sizes in bytes, tx number of inputs and outputs.
  • Mining difficulty as a function of time/block number, for several time ranges (e.g all time, last year, month, day etc.). Will also include the cost to launch a successful 51% attack as a function of time.

25k ain’t no drop in the bucket, and my worry is that eventually it will run into the same fat as other block explorers that are now defunct (https://explorer.zcha.in/, https://explorer.zecmate.com/)

5

Hey pkr,

This is primarily intended for Zcashers to use as a gauge of Zcash adoption and the health of the network.

This dashboard will offer metrics and statistics that are currently behind expensive paywalls at e.g. Messari and Coinmetrics. Presumably there is significant demand from their paying customers to provide these datasets.

The tech stack will primarily be python to interface with a full Zcash node, and a custom webpage to display the metrics and graphs.

This is difficult to answer in detail while remaining pseudonymous. I have significant ‘data science’ experience and have produced various Zcash metric visualizations previously.

The intention here is to build a Zcash data dashboard for the long term, and this proposal guarantees a minimum of one year of support. The dashboard is intended to offer graphs and statistics not currently available in any block explorer. I think there is value in a stand-alone metrics page, but would also be happy to discuss a future integration with https://zcashblockexplorer.com if that is something Zcashers want.

If ZCAP approves this proposal, my intent is to build something for the long term. That would certainly mean iterating to improve from one version to the next based on feedback from Zcashers :slightly_smiling_face:

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6

How does this compare to or could be in collaboration with the @Alphaday dashboard?

We have been working with Alphaday to build their dashboard. Their team is very involved, skilled and open to feedback.

1 Like
7

Hey @ryan.taylor, it looks like the Alphaday dashboard (https://app.alphaday.com) is focused on news, upcoming events, price chart, blog posts, twitter posts etc.

This proposal is for a dashboard focused on Zcash on-chain metrics and analytics. So it looks like this proposal doesn’t overlap with what Alphaday is providing.

If this proposal is funded then I’d be happy to discuss a future collaboration. :slightly_smiling_face:

3 Likes
8

We need this.

1 Like