New Alpha Release: libzcash

Today, we deployed a new alpha release of the Zcash reference implementation, v0.11.2.z3, to the testnet. The new release includes the following changes [1]:

1. We’ve implemented the Zcash protocol in the form of libzcash, including a rewrite of our zkSNARK circuit. (#908)
2. We have a new implementation of our incremental merkle tree with better space efficiency and memory safety. (#889)
3. We’ve replaced crypto++’s key-private encryption with NoteEncryption as defined in our protocol specification. (#888)
4. We’ve added googletest to our test suite for isolated unit testing of libzcash and other core components in our protocol. (#879)

We’ve been hard at work solidifying a protocol specification which addresses security and terminology issues in the original Zerocash design, some of which we mentioned in a previous blog post. libzcash is a replacement for the old protocol implementation which brings us closer to realizing this new design.

As with our previous alpha releases, this resets our testnet, invalidating all previous coins and breaking backwards compatibility. To get connected to the new testnet, follow the instructions on the Public Alpha Guide.

To follow our progress, watch the github project and join the forum. To get an email announcement when Zcash Sprout is ready, put your email address in here.