On the desk
Inventory for reviewers: three product surfaces already on testnet, one shared path, and a community plane with holder ranking.
Product surfaces
- Proof VM Contracts verify Zcash-grade proofs and open only the fields a policy needs.
- Light clients Headers and finality enter the same contract environment. Zcash stays the root of those facts.
- Authentication turnstiles Smart-account checks for membership, voting, and access from verified claims.
How they connect
Verify → Update → Bind → Turnstile. Full path on Why?. Stack and Progress name what already runs.
Community plane
Same ask funds the event surface on the ZecHub bounty board.
- Buzz forum Public room for audit talk and hackathon coordination.
- Compute credits Sponsored credits for reviewers and builders.
- Open dataset Opt-in audit traces delivered with the program.
- Holder ranking Top 10 demos for bonus share. Audit work ranked for improvements and vulnerabilities.
Why?
We are extending the Zcash application layer so human coordination can settle under proofs anyone can check. The grant stack brings selective disclosure, light clients, and authentication turnstiles into environments where DAOs and apps already compose.
Principles we uphold
- Verification over assumption Correctness is something outsiders can check. Verify APIs, named tests, and public demos are part of the craft, so claims settle under mathematics that holds up under review.
- Privacy as foundation Selective disclosure opens only the fields a policy needs. Membership and preference can stay private by default for DAOs that want Zcash-grade guarantees in their app layer.
- Open stewardship Code, specs, and demos live in public. The residual is built to be audited, inherited, and extended by builders who will come after this grant.
Where the grant stack lands
A selective-disclosure contract VM and light clients that speak Zcash-grade proofs, curves, and headers. Counterparty chains root their own consensus state. Light clients carry the Zcash header view those applications need so composition can use real consensus facts.
What the grant stack delivers
In-contract proof verification. Header and finality updates into light clients. Claims bound to smart accounts. Authentication turnstiles for membership, voting, and access. A community audit and design-space hackathon on the elevated ZecHub bounty surface, with holder ranking.
The path · Verify → Update → Bind → Turnstile
Four steps from a checked proof to a controlled action on the application layer. Each step is meant to be reproducible by someone outside the team.
- 01Verify · settle Zcash-grade proofs in the selective-disclosure contract VM. Verification-key storage and a clear verify API on the proof VM.
- 02Update · carry Zcash headers and finality into light clients contracts can read. Header and Crosslink finality on the IBC light-client path.
- 03Bind · attach verified claims to smart accounts and authenticators. Curve-aware authenticators (terp-rs suite).
- 04Turnstile · open membership, voting, and access through custom smart-account authentication turnstiles. DAO plugins and wallet-derived session material powered by the grant stack.
Stewardship
The designs will evolve. The principles will not. Selective disclosure, coinholder-style commitments, and Crosslink-aware header paths stay aligned with Zcash crypto and ZIPs. We document maturity honestly, ship with tests, and leave room for community audit so the work can outlast this residual.
Stack inventory
Components that already run on testnet, and the public loops still being closed so outsiders can run the path end to end.
Proof VM
Live · testnetCosmWasm on Wasmer, tuned so contracts can verify Zcash-grade proofs and curves in place. Modular verification-key storage, a unified verification API, and native hashes (BLAKE2b-256, BLAKE3) share one surface. Proof VM docs · zk-cosmwasm
Light clients
CompiledIBC clients that follow Zcash headers and Crosslink finality into the same contract environment used for composition. Demos compile and exercise entry points; next is the public closed loop with real data. Crosslink LC · light-clients
DAO preference · vote-sdk
In progressEligibility and ballots as commitments, with contract-side verify so preference can settle without publishing a roster. Aligned with coinholder / shielded voting. vote-sdk
Authentication turnstiles
Built · demos expandCustom smart-account authentication turnstiles for passkeys, curve credentials, and membership, composable with light clients — implemented in the terp-rs smart-accounts crates (suite: terp-authenticator-suite).
Header & finality ingress
Last mileAutomation so light clients keep up with Zcash headers and finality without ad-hoc manual updates. Next is the outsider-runnable closed loop and relayer path.
Public acceptance tests
Last mileNamed, outsider-runnable tests over the verify API, light-client update path, and authentication turnstiles, hardening what already compiles so reviewers can exercise the path themselves.
Community audit & design event
PlannedOpen participation for audit traces and builder tracks, with sponsored compute and a capture path toward an open dataset.
No components in this filter . try All or another stack.
Design space
What the stack can power once verification, light clients, and custom smart-account authentication turnstiles compose, across enterprise access and distributed community infrastructure.
Selective disclosure apps
Prove a claim (membership, note hold, role), verify in a contract, and open only what the policy needs.
Private DAO membership & preference
Commitment-based eligibility and ballots for clubs and DAOs, without publishing voter graphs.
Enterprise authentication turnstiles
Passkeys, curve credentials, and multi-credential turnstiles on smart accounts for partner portals and internal tools that still want Zcash-native claims.
Distributed community rooms
Public collaboration for audits, events, and open helper agents, kept separate from private operator tooling.
DAO work boards
Post and claim work with wallet login and, over time, Zcash-related payouts, distinct from chat and from this project page.
Zcash application layer
Scale Zcash state trustlessly into other smart-contract environments: headers and finality checked by light clients, proofs verified in contracts. Zcash stays the root; sovereign apps expand around it.
Wallet-derived sessions
Session material that can follow from existing wallet curves, so web apps can extend accounts while reusing familiar wallet material.
Shared discipline
Turnstiles check a claim with minimal disclosure, the same habit selective disclosure and coinholder voting already assume.
Demos
Interactive surfaces land as the public testnet + faucet wire up. Preview of what’s coming is listed below while launchers stay locked.
Launch
What’s already built
Progress since the first ask: baseline that already runs, and public loops still being closed so more builders can participate.
Proof VM · storage and verify API
Native curves on the VM surface. Reusable verification-key storage and a clear circuit identity path so contracts can verify Zcash-grade proofs in place, with acceptance tests that stay practical for outsiders.
Public acceptance coverage
Documented entry points for the verify API, light-client update path, and authentication turnstiles, plus named tests reviewers can run. Focus is outsider-reproducible coverage of what already compiles.
DAO preference · vote-sdk
Commitment patterns and verify hooks for private eligibility and ballots, aligned with coinholder-voting design. Named demos and public acceptance still expanding.
Authentication turnstiles · suite
Passkey, curve-credential, and membership turnstiles composed with light clients. Suite tests are in place; per-turnstile depth continues.
Light clients · Crosslink path
Clients compile with Ed25519 batch e2e; selective-disclosure demos exist. Still building the public header and finality closed loop so others can update from real Zcash data.
Timeline
$230,000 service ask. Delivery spans about two months: roughly one month of team shipping, then two community programs of two weeks each, back to back.
- Baseline · Done
Proof VM on public testnet
Modular verification-key storage and a clear verify path, on a public testnet others can already exercise.
engineering book · zk-cosmwasm · testnet / network desk - Baseline · Done
Light clients · Crosslink path
08-wasm clients compile and run e2e in Docker. They complement Crosslink; they do not replace Zcash consensus.
Crosslink LC · light-clients suite - Baseline · Done
Turnstiles and DAO preference patterns
Authenticator suite and vote-sdk commitment patterns so private membership and custom smart-account authentication turnstiles have real hooks.
authenticator suite · vote-sdk - Team · ~1 month
Ship residual surfaces
Public acceptance coverage, header closed loop into light clients, composition demos for DAO preference and authentication turnstiles, and engineering docs for reviewers.
engineering book · ZIP-221 foundation - Event · 2 weeks
Community audit
Reviewers study the stack, file improvements and vulnerabilities, and use the open board with compute sponsorship for paid work.
- Event · 2 weeks
Design-space hackathon
Builders ship demos on the proof VM, light clients, and authentication turnstiles. Follows the audit window. ZEC holders rank top demos and audit impact on the same board.
Community event plane
This product surface hosts two community programs: a community-led audit and a design-space hackathon. ZEC holders rank standout demos and audit impact on the open board.
Community audit and design-space hackathon
Both programs share one elevated ZecHub bounty surface, compute credits, and holder ranking. Role tabs describe how each participant joins.
- Community audit · 2 weeks Reviewers study the stack and file improvements and vulnerabilities for holder ranking.
- Design-space hackathon · 2 weeks Builders ship demos on the proof VM, light clients, and authentication turnstiles. Follows the audit window.
- Holder ranking ZEC holders rank the top 10 demos for a shared bonus and rank audit work by impact on this design.
Open-source surface
This plane elevates open-source work ZecHub already runs. We connect those projects so audit, hackathon, compute credits, and holder ranking share one path.
- ZecHub/zec-bounties is the bounty board with native ZEC payments, built with ZecHub community builders led by @onajifortune.
- DAO-DAO hosts the governance UI so the board embeds where ZecHub and peer DAOs already coordinate.
- Grant stack authentication powers registration and elevated board access with smart-account turnstiles, Zcash-aligned claim checks, and wallet-derived session material, plus compute mint and redeem and holder ranking on that surface.
Grant stack support
Participants use the grant stack for every elevated step. Authentication turnstiles gate registration and board access with verified claims. Review and demos settle those claims on the proof VM. Light clients bring Zcash headers and finality into the paths that need them.
Participation workflow
Every role follows the same sequence. The tabs below add detail for each role.
- 1Open
- 2Register
- 3Work
- 4Freeze
- 5Holder votes
- 6Publish
Role playbooks
Choose how you join. Deep links keep the role and panel in the URL so you can share a direct path.
Rank demos and audit impact
You rank the top 10 hackathon projects for the shared bonus pool. You also rank community-audit work for improvements and vulnerabilities on this design.
- 1EligibilityHold ZEC. Complete the board coinholder check when votes open.
- 2RegisterJoin as a ZEC holder for vote notices and ranking access.
- 3Read shortlistsReview the hackathon top-10 track and audit findings tagged as improvement or vulnerability.
- 4Vote on hackathon top 10Rank projects. Your preference sets how the bonus pool is shared.
- 5Vote on audit impactRank improvements and vulnerabilities on this design. Ranking guides recognition and fix priority.
- 6OutcomesThe board publishes rankings, the bonus split, and audit priorities.
Hackathon bonus
Holders rank the top 10. That ranking splits the shared bonus.
Audit ranking
Holders rank improvements and critical vulnerabilities on this design.
Review and file
Review this stack and file clear findings. Qualifying work enters holder ranking after freeze.
- 1RegisterJoin as a community auditor. Accept the scope and disclosure rules.
- 2CreditsClaim sponsored compute for review tooling.
- 3Stack accessUse the docs, testnet, verify API, light clients, and turnstile suite.
- 4ReviewCover proof verify, headers and finality, turnstiles, and composition demos. Log severity and repro steps.
- 5FileSubmit findings as an improvement or a vulnerability. Severe issues follow coordinated disclosure.
- 6DatasetOpt in so review traces join the open audit dataset.
- 7Holder rankingQualifying findings enter the holder vote after freeze.
Build and ship
Ship a demo on this stack. Qualifying projects can enter the top 10 for the holder bonus vote.
- 1RegisterJoin as a design-space builder. Accept the rules and submission format.
- 2CreditsClaim sponsored compute for builds and experiments.
- 3Design spaceChoose a space such as selective disclosure, DAO preference, turnstiles, light-client demos, or related surfaces.
- 4BuildUse the public proof VM, light clients, vote-sdk, and turnstiles.
- 5SubmitShare a repo, run notes, and a short description on a public path.
- 6Top 10After freeze, up to ten projects enter the holder bonus vote.
- 7Bonus voteHolders rank the top 10 and set the bonus share.
Links
Rewards
Holders rank the top 10 demos for the bonus pool and rank audit work for improvements and vulnerabilities on this design.
Sponsored credits support audit and hackathon compute while participants work.
Sources
Builds on (Zcash-in)
The ZK-CosmWasm Book
Public builder guide: Proof VM, circuits, cw-orch / ict-rs tooling, light clients, and applications. Start here for engineering documentation.
zk-cosmwasm
Proof VM: CosmWasm / Wasmer, modular verification-key storage, and a clear verify API. Main product repository for the selective-disclosure VM.
IBC light clients
terp-rs 08-wasm clients and Crosslink path demos.
ZIP-221
Header history-tree commitments. Foundation for consensus-state ingress.
vote-sdk
DAO preference commitments and coinholder-aligned patterns.
authenticator suite
Custom smart-account authentication turnstiles (passkey, curve credentials, membership).
Product mind map
Deliverable relationships at a glance.
Forum, email, VM repo, security.
Contact
Zcash Community Grants forum
Preferred for grant discussion, feedback, and on-the-record review questions.
Forum Post
Milestones, ask, and budget links in panel 06.
Responsible disclosure
Email with subject [security]. Do not open public issues for unfixed vulns. Coordinated disclosure welcome after fix or agreed timeline.