Zcash is re-emerging: a private financial infrastructure for billions of users

Original on Zcash.

Photo by Josh Swihart

Original language: Peggy

Editor: This is a phased update of Zcash's recent road map and ecological progress. The article defines the long-term goal of Zcash as the creation of a parallel financial world without large-scale financial surveillance that allows users to freely hold, transfer and use assets under tacit privacy protection. Its core value proposition can be summed up in one sentence: private possession of ZEC and its ability to be consumed anywhere。

With this objective in mind, the ZODL team emphasizes that the key next is not unlimited expansion, but strategic focus: the core competencies that must be built up in the protocol layer and Zodl product should be promoted as a matter of priority; the functions that can be combined with external products and the public chain should be accelerated through cooperation; and the non-mission-related "backline tasks " need to be actively rejected。

In terms of concrete progress, Zodl iOS 3.4.0 has been released, Swift and Android SDK 2.5.0 synchronized updates, the Coinholdr Polling voting function in the wallet has been tested, automatic server switching, multi-server transaction submission, multi-currency conversion, etc. have also entered a subsequent schedule. At the same time, Zcash Core continues to evolve on the ground around the reduction of block time, the restoration of block trade issues, the advancement of Zallet alpha and the optimization of synchronized engines。

On the whole, Zcash is trying to move from a single "privacy currency narrative" to a more complete privacy financial infrastructure. Financial privacy, wallet experience, cross-chain availability and community governance are being linked to a path for large-scale users. For Zcash, privacy is not just a technical feature, but a prerequisite for financial sovereignty to be established。

The following is the original text:

Our destination is clear: we are building a parallel world without massive financial surveillance. There, law-abiding persons can trade freely and privately; financial privacy is a state of default; and access to markets is a fundamental right. Without privacy, there is no sovereignty。

Our job is to build roads for billions of people there. From user access, safe storage, to affordability and practical utility, this route must be sufficiently broad to carry enough traffic, and must be strong enough to stand the test of time。

EACH ROAD REQUIRES A BASE. OUR SIMPLIFIED VALUE PROPOSITION IS PRIVATE POSSESSION AND PAYMENT ANYWHERE. PRIVATE POSSESSION OF ZECS FREES US FROM ANYONE LOOKING AT OUR WEALTH AND TRADING HISTORY; PAYMENT EVERYWHERE MEANS THAT WHATEVER CURRENCY THE RECIPIENT PREFERS, WE CAN REALLY USE OUR PRIVATE ASSETS。

Ben Horowitz once said that the only job was to deliver the right product at the right time. Both components must be established simultaneously. After 10 years of continuous grinding, we finally have both。

We lay stones on the base. These stones represent a major pledge that really drives us fast: they create value, bring new practicality and promote wider adoption. They're not something that prevents users from moving forward. Each step towards a destination must be simple enough。

WE ALSO FILL THE GRAVEL BETWEEN THE ROCKS TO STRENGTHEN THE ROAD. THESE INCLUDE UI ADJUSTMENTS, SMALL AGREEMENT IMPROVEMENTS AND VARIOUS TYPES OF OPTIMIZATION. THE GRAVEL ITSELF IS NOT THE BASIS OF THE ROAD, AND WITHOUT IT THEY WILL SOON BE WASHED AWAY BY RAIN. THEY ARE IMPORTANT, BUT ONLY IF THE STONES ARE LAID。

We have little time and much to build. We cannot stay too long in the towns on the road; we cannot overwhelm the roads to add to those that cannot help us reach our destination faster; or we cannot narrow the roads too narrow to exclude those who need to follow them in the future. We cannot open multiple routes each other simply because we prefer our own programmes; let alone build towards others' destinations. We must constantly calibrate ourselves, identify directions and maintain discipline, building only what is really necessary。

It is this discipline of focus and implementation that allows us to classify and sequence our work。

• What we have to do on our own: the capacity that we have to build on the level of the agreement and the Zodl product。

• The things we can combine: other products and public chains can already provide, and can be combined with, our core competencies, thereby releasing greater relevance more quickly. We work with NEAR Intens to support swaps and Crosspay, which is a good example。

• What we choose to reject: activities that do not adequately advance our mission to our destination, that are redundant or that are contrary to our mission。

We plan to share, test and calibrate our work around these classifications on the upcoming ZODL Summit in July. I also hope that the entire community of Zcash will continue to work together to maximize our collective advantage, rather than taking separate paths. For a decentrization agreement such as Zcash, the bypass is bound to appear: different ideas, different views are normal. But if we can get as close as possible to the stone-laying effort, we can reach our destination. We will build this path for billions of people。

BELOW IS THE UPDATE OF ZODL THIS WEEK。

Zodl (product)

Zodl iOS 3.4.0 has been published. 3.3.0 Version introduces the function of disconnection from Zodl of Keystone hardware wallets; 3.4.0 ensures smoother reconnection. A combination of the two versions allows the user to complete the complete closed ring managed by the hardware wallet in Zodl: connect, disconnect, reconnect. See post for details。

The bottom Swift SDK 2.5.0 and Android SDK 2.5.0 have also been synchronized, completing the 2.5.0 cycle on both platforms and bringing backwind/rescan pipe and synchronous state-related work to lay the groundwork for the next wave of moving end functions。

The realization and review of Coinholdr Polling has been completed at the iOS and Android ends, and the work is being carried out in collaboration with the Valar Group team. The code is now consolidated and is in the internal testing phase. For the first time, the holder of the currency in the wallet will vote as planned for the forthcoming NU7 vote。

The Coinholder Polling design, user experience and UI have been updated on the basis of the latest round of feedback, including the bottom window selection, which allows users to choose which agency to publish the currently valid voting list; it also supplements the border scene interface between voting and voting results。

The product side will continue to advance:

Continue testing and grinding Coinholdr Polling。

Continue processing iOS sync errors。

Next steps include automatic server switching, multi-server transaction submission, and multi-currency conversion。

Finalizes the design update for Coinholdr Polling and shifts the focus to multi-account support design。

Zodl iOS Data

independent installation: 41.9k (+0.5k)

total downloads: 49.9k (+0.7k)

App Store Rating: 4.9 ★ (no change)

Zodl Android Data

installation base: 15.6k (+0.3k)

Total installation (including Open Beta): 50k (+0.5k)

Play Store Rating: 4.24% (-0.02)

Zcash Core (including R & D)

This week, the discussion of a proposal to reduce the block time from 75 to 25 seconds has shrunk。

A failure problem of shielding was diagnosed and repaired (librustzcash #2347). The problem affects Android Zashi/Zodl users who hold large amounts of small and transparent UTXO, typically where miners receive regular small payments。

Several ZEWIF repairs have landed, including blob size corrections, and redeem-script processing repairs to further improve the reliability of wallets and data exchange. The idea of a subsequent zewif2 was also launched this week。

Zallet alpha.4 Progress: destructive change detection for alpha version reviewed and consolidated. The old alpha wallet will now refuse to run on incompatible construction instead of destroying status data。

Reviewed a set of PRs for Shirded-voting Swift SDK and multi-server transaction delivery, both of which directly serve the mobile end mentioned above。

Follow-up of CompactBlock messages was completed, reducing old burden and protocol costs。

Harmonized the processing of sending and receiving transparent UTXO (librustzcash #2260) with zcash client backend, corrected inconsistencies in the transparent UTXO path。

Next, the Core side will focus on:

Focus on the remaining scope of Zallet alpha.4。

Complete the review supported by z shieldcoinbase RPC。

Three synchronized engines are moving forward in sequence: put blocks / store decrypted tx re-engineering for the harmonization of shielding and transparent processing paths; support full block scanning in zcash client back; and migrate to Zaino 's new ChinaIndex tripit。

Expands the zcashd migration capability of Zallet to support all old key types and constructs an integration test around the keys generated by the historical version zcashd。

Other

A group of community reviews (forum posts, X posts) on voting for NU7 have been launched. This ballot will be conducted simultaneously through ZCAP and currency holders, and will result in the first ballot by Zodl. Users of hardware wallets can participate through Zodl + Keystone。

ZODL Summit's invitation is open (forum post, X post). ZODL Summit, formerly Z|ECC Summit, is a working-type gathering of Zcash contributors and ecological partners twice a year. The meeting will be held in Prague, Czech Republic, from 8 to 10 July. You can apply here。

Cyberpunk Policy Dinner: Continues to communicate with the community around ZCG's main sponsorship application. This is a side event of 2026 DC Privacy Summit. Once approved, the next step will be to recruit more Zcash ecological sponsors, while ensuring continued focus on Zcash。

New members will join the team in the coming weeks. Harry will join and serve as a senior mobile QA; Danny Willems will join on May 27 as Chief Password Engineer; Giulia will join and act as a market assistant。

Zcash Core has submitted a Coinholder Grant application for work. For more details。

BD: THE OUTREACH PROCESS HAS BEEN LAUNCHED, AND THE HEAD OF THE CODE BANK IS DIRECTLY CONTACTING THE MINERS TO ENHANCE THE COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION PROCESS WITH THE MINERS ' COMMUNITIES。

Market: ECC blog has resumed. Zodl x Slope brand interaction continues。

Markets and ecology

This week, Zcash got coverage of Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Fast Company. Six years ago, Zcash was declared dead。

Still holding the SolZEC? Please transfer it to the blocking address, gentlemen. It's simple。

This week you can watch the Bandless podcast on Zcash。

Go ahead, Build, forward。

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