Zcash developer Josh Swihart opposes Crosslink staking proposal, U.Today reports
In brief
- Josh Swihart doesn't believe Crosslink will benefit Zcash, according to U.Today.
- Crosslink would keep mining for issuance and add a staking layer against rollbacks and attacks, U.Today reported.
- Shielded Labs proposed fixed staking amounts in powers of 10 ZEC to protect anonymity, U.Today reported.
- Vitalik Buterin and the Winklevoss twins financially backed the proposal, U.Today reported.
What Crosslink proposes
Crosslink comes from Shielded Labs, which U.Today describes as an independent team, and it was pitched as a compromise. In the design U.Today outlined, traditional mining would keep issuing coins. A staking layer would sit on top to prevent transaction rollbacks and attacks on the network.
There's a privacy piece too. According to U.Today, Shielded Labs proposed limiting staking amounts to powers of 10 ZEC (1, 10, 100 or 1,000), and the fixed sizes were meant to stop outside observers from identifying participants in the shielded Orchard pool.
Swihart's objection
Swihart (whom U.Today identifies as the former head of Electric Coin Company) argued that the architectural cost of that compromise is too high. In U.Today's summary of his view, the extra layer overloads the protocol, creates new critical vulnerabilities and isn't worth the stated benefits.
"Zcash should remain on classic Nakamoto consensus," the developer stated.
That's his position in one line.
The fight isn't new, either. U.Today said the dispute goes back to 2021, when developers first explored a move to Proof-of-Stake, and it reported that Swihart (back in the CEO role at the time) froze that effort, calling it a distraction from scaling. Shielded Labs later revived the Proof-of-Stake work.
Outside backers and a split community
U.Today reported that Crosslink was financially backed by Vitalik Buterin and the Winklevoss twins, who it said hope to make ZEC a yield-bearing asset. That puts some well-known outside backers on one side of the debate and the founder of Zcash Open Development Lab on the other.
U.Today said the proposal has divided the Zcash community. It also reported growing security skepticism within the Zcash core, and said the project doesn't have the consensus it needs to update the code.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Zcash Crosslink proposal?
Crosslink is a proposed Zcash reform from Shielded Labs, pitched as a compromise. According to U.Today, traditional mining would keep issuing coins, and a staking layer would be added on top to prevent transaction rollbacks and attacks on the network.
Why does Josh Swihart oppose Crosslink?
Swihart argued that the architectural cost of the compromise is too high. As U.Today summarized his view, the extra layer overloads the protocol, creates new critical vulnerabilities and isn't worth the stated benefits. He said Zcash should stay on classic Nakamoto consensus.
Why would Crosslink limit staking to powers of 10 ZEC?
Shielded Labs proposed fixing staking amounts at 1, 10, 100 or 1,000 ZEC to protect user anonymity, according to U.Today. The fixed amounts were meant to stop outside observers from identifying participants in the shielded Orchard pool.
