The initiative backing Zcash's innovation and operating activities, facilitated by rewards from ZEC blocks, is on track to finish next fall.
Presently, Zcash co-originator and head honcho of the Electric Coin Company, Zooko Wilcox, has contributed a public entreaty response addressing the Zcash community’s contemplation of extending the development fund beyond October 2020.
What is he asking? For the community members to gear up for guiding Zcash through a crucial phase of transformation.
His message delves into the essence of Zcash's significance. The Zcash community has a rare chance to influence history's trajectory positively. https://t.co/FyZsS8gO3P … pic.twitter.com/m1bCxhRU8x
— zooko❤ⓩ???????????????? (@zooko) August 1, 2019
Since its inception in 2016, Zcash's temporary rewards system—comprised of 20% of the 10.5 million ZEC generated from its initial four years—has been key in aiding the project’s growth from its nascent stages.
During the 2018 cryptoeconomy downturn, increased financial support flowed into the Zcash development sector effective June 2019, thanks to an agreement ECC struck with the project's founders. However, support might dry up next fall unless the Zcash community chooses otherwise.
In a letter shared on Medium this week, Wilcox laid out how the community should proceed with its decision and how ECC could back the endeavor.
“I’m Not the Decider for the Community”
Wilcox outlined several options, such as allocating all new funds to miners, creating a new Dev Fund with part of new issuances, or exploring other routes.
A computer security expert, Wilcox mentioned that ECC could counsel the community on their options, apply community decisions through software enhancements, manage Zcash trademarks, and essentially renew their engagement for support if a fresh block reward deal is agreed upon.
To that last point, Wilcox wrote:
“As long as the ECC exists, and the Zcash community extends the financial means needed for us to operate, we’re willing to take on the responsibility. We’re passionate about Zcash and have dedicated ourselves to it, boasting an unparalleled record in the industry.”
Ultimately, it falls to Zcash's diverse stakeholders to decide whether to accept that offer. Wilcox noted that a “community decision process” will soon be rolled out by the Zcash Foundation.
“Regardless of whether the community decision unfolds as I hope, I remain grateful to everyone for realizing Zcash,” Wilcox concluded.
Ycash Diverged to Steer Clear of Dev Fund Renewal
Ycash, the so-called “ friendly fork ”, specifically branched out from Zcash to avoid renewing its development fund.
With Howard Loo at the helm, the initiative was launched last spring to assert a principle that development funding had met its end. Back then, Loo stated:
“We’re starting Ycash to honor a promise—that the Zcash Founders Reward would be permanently capped at 2.1 million coins—considering that upcoming pressures might challenge it before its scheduled end in October 2020.”
Entering the scene officially on July 18th, Ycash has maintained amicable relations with Zcash enthusiasts, although it’s now competing alongside the more established Zcash.
The Ethereum Community Has Also Recently Engaged in Debates on Block Reward Allocations
Late July saw a surge in discussions in the Ethereum space around Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 2025. The proposal suggested adding 0.0055 ether to block rewards over 18 months to boost funds.
Under this plan, those gathered resources were meant to bolster development endeavors. However, many key voices in Ethereum criticized the proposal for being too groundbreaking and arguably late in Ethereum’s evolution. fund “Ethereum 1.0” development “The crucial takeaway is to establish precedence that block rewards should not be harnessed,” EthHub co-founder Conner argued during the heated discussions. “It’s a perilously slippery slope.”
William M. Peaster is an experienced writer and editor, specializing in Ethereum, Dai, and Bitcoin sectors within the cryptoeconomy. His work has been featured in Blockonomi, Binance Academy, Bitsonline, among others. He follows smart contracts, DAOs, dApps, and the Lightning Network intently, and he’s also diving into Solidity. Catch him on Telegram at @wmpeaster
