Blog posted at: https://blog.zensystem.io/zencash-update-saturday-june-10-at-10-pm-eastern/

ZenCash Update Saturday June 10 at 10 pm eastern

by BlockOps

After updating the security advisory and announcing the hardfork earlier today, some questions came up in slack that it would probably be helpful to answer here on the blog.

When we say we are going to perform a hard fork of ZenCash, what that means is we are going to require all participants in the ZenCash network to do an upgrade to the node software they are running. The upgrade will be required to be implemented by a certain block height, in this case 117,000. Any mining pool or solo miner who is running an older software version that tries to add blocks to the blockchain that will end up with orphaned blocks.

There are multiple chains being created on every blockchain all the time. Usually within a few blocks consensus is reached, and the longest blockchain becomes the blockchain that everyone is mining to, and becomes the historical record. The blocks that were added to the chain that ended up not being used are known as orphans. Orphaned blocks happen regularly, usually for only a short period of time until consensus is reached among the nodes and miners.

The intention of the ZenCash team in forcing the software update is to have the entire system running on a version of the software that won't accept blocks that may contain transaction replays. Everyone who owns ZenCash should want this. The miners, the pool operators, and everyone else involved with Zencash should want this too. Since everyone wants the system to work well, the expectation is that everyone is going to upgrade their software before the hard fork rules take place.

What the ZenCash team is planning is called a hard fork because that is what it technically is. It could also be termed a mandatory software upgrade for everyone on the system. But by calling it a hard fork everyone who operates nodes understands they need to get their nodes upgraded before the deadline, or their systems won't be participating anymore.

Sometimes discussion of a hard fork happens when there are two or more groups that are part of a project who have ideas on how things should go, and these ideas are incompatible. If it gets to a point where one group breaks off and starts a new codebase, and encourages miners, mining pools, and exchange operators to join them, and they do, then that is a contentious hard fork. It is why the words hard fork sometimes have a bad connotation in the world of cryptocurrency. That is not the situation we are in now, and we are talking with our mining pool operators and Bittrex on a regular basis to keep everyone informed of the plan.

A very common question I see on the Slack is why won't the Zclassic and ZenCash wallets open on Bittrex? It is because Bittrex wants to prevent a transaction replay from happening to the ZenCash funds on their exchange. They really want every solo miner and mining pool out there to be mining blocks that won't accept transactions that can contain a replay of a Zclassic transaction. The ZenCash hard fork makes sure that happens, and after it is complete Bittrex will have a chance to evaluate and make a decision on the Zclassic and ZenCash wallets based on all miners and pools running the updated software.

It will be great to get past this issue, and get on to building the ZenCash cryptocurrency we have been planning all along. We want to have the abilities of Zcash, but focused on the needs of people, not big business. We want to have usable wallets on every platform, including hardware wallets. And not just wallets on mobile devices that are limited to transparent transactions, but ones that can do shielded, anonymous transactions.

We are looking forward to having a strong and secure network of Zen secure nodes that are built and maintained by system administrators around the world. And of course we look forward to having a completely secure messaging and publishing capability.

To run an organization like this takes funding, organization, and hard work. I'm very happy that we are in the good position we are in, despite the current issue which appears to be just a bump in the road. ZenCash is up and running -  funding the treasury with every block, we have the core of a strong and talented organization, and the current issue we are working through is demonstrating to everyone that we are willing to work hard to effectively get the things done that we need to do.

I'm also very happy that we have the support of a great exchange partner in Bittrex, we have lots of mining hashpower, and best of all, we have a big and supportive community!

ZenCash website – https://zensystem.io

ZenCash blog – https://blog.zensystem.io

ZenCash Github – https://github.com/ZencashOfficial

ZenCash Update noon on Friday Jun 9, 2017

ZenCash is still under the threat of a replay attack, and the ZenCash team is getting closer to having a solution to the problem. Here is a brief update to keep everyone in the loop.

The nature of the replay attack threat for ZenCash right now is that a transaction that was completed on Zclassic can be accepted into the mempool, then placed into a block on the ZenCash blockchain. Because of the similar nature of the blockchain and addresses, this would then be broadcast on the Zen blockchain.

There are some ways to mitigate against the attack for anyone who has control of their wallet. The easiest is to set up a second wallet and send the ZenCash to the second wallet. At that point there are no ZenCash UTXO’s that can be replayed with a Zclassic transaction. Another way is to just not do any Zclassic transactions until the issue is fixed on the ZenCash zen node software. Although the replay is vulnerable to older Zclassic transactions as well, so it depends on your transaction history as to how well this would work.

The replay protection was originally put in place in the ZenCash node software by the former lead developer, and was set to expire after 4096 blocks. We don’t know why the choice was made to have the protection expire. Before announcing the vulnerability, the ZenCash former lead developer pushed an update that extended the replay protection checking to forever.

If everyone were running the latest ZenCash node software, there would not be a problem, because all the mining pool operators and solo miners whose software has the ability to accept transactions into the mempool would have software that protected the blockchain. Right now that upgrade is non-mandatory, and older versions of the software are still vulnerable.

The Zen team is discussing the best course of action to take, and we encourage all mining pool operators and solo miners to stay abreast of the latest announcements.

From an organizational standpoint, there is progress. The ZenCash former lead developer is of course welcome to contribute software to the Zen project just like any other developer is welcome to do so. He will not be welcome to be part of the Zen leadership team going forward, though.

There is currently funds accumulating in the ZenCash treasury, at the rate of 8.5% of every block mined. These funds will be used by the Zen leadership to bootstrap the building of a complete development, operations, and communications team.

With the ability to hire and contract talented contributors, Zen will be able to continue working through the goals outlined in the Zen White Paper.

Future ZenCash communications will be based on a new domain name, zensystem.io. Look for us there!

New ZenCash website - https://zensystem.io

New ZenCash blog - https://blog.zensystem.io

New ZenCash Github - https://github.com/ZencashOfficial

ZenCash Status Update Thursday June 8 2017

ZenCash is currently under threat of a zero-day attack announced by the former lead developer of the Zen node and Eleos wallet code. Shortly after announcing his intention of leaving the project, he also announced and made public a method of attacking the Zen blockchain.

The other members of the Zen founding team, Rob Viglione, Rolf Versluis, and Jane Lippencott, are grateful for all the hard work put into the project by Joshua Yabut when he was the lead developer, and thankful for the notification of the potential zero day attack. We will definitely miss him being on the team.

The nature of the attack could lead to a transaction replay from the Zclassic blockchain to the Zen blockchain. There was replay protection put in place for the launch of Zen, but due to the warning it appears more replay protection would be prudent.

Based on the threat, the Zen Core team has asked our primary exchange partner, Bittrex, to protect their holdings by putting the ZEN wallet into maintenance mode until the code has been reviewed. This does not stop trading on the exchange, only the deposit and withdrawal of Zen funds. This is a short term measure.

The Zen blockchain is intact, no funds have been lost to the best knowledge of the Zen team, and the mitigation plan is already in place.

The mitigation plan is:

• Take a snapshot of the existing blockchain.
• Review the Zen code for issues (already in progress).
• Implement whatever measures are necessary to get the Zen code base to a reliable state.

After the short term mitigation plan, the Zen Core team will continue to work with an industry leading development team, IOHK, to continue development and improvement of the ZenCash software to follow along with the vision laid out in the Zen White Paper.

IOHK developers have already been working with Zen and were very helpful in identifying and fixing the code issue that caused the Zen launch delay. They are also in the process of performing the code review for security.

The Zen team is excited about the opportunity to continue to grow and develop the ZenCash cryptocurrency and is thankful to the many community members, contributors, miners, mining pool operators, purchasers of ZenCash, and exchanges (especially Bittrex!) who have expressed support and encouragement for the project.

We intend to continue to provide an update twice daily on the status of the short term issue, and will then resume consistent communications and activity as we work together to realize the vision in the Zen white paper.

This is a guide that I wrote for preparing to build the node - part 1. It has summary at the bottom of the things that will need to be done to completely build the Secure node.

Once the Zen node software is stable I'll publish part 2.
https://blockoperations.com/build-zencash-secure-node-part-1-prepare-vps/

You will need 42 ZEN for the node.

3.5% of the coinbase reward will get distributed to nodes meeting requirements for Secure Nodes.

Glad you like part 1. I am working on part 2.

If you had your ZCL on Bittrex at block 110,000 Bittrex should have created a ZEN wallet for you that is currently in maintenance showing how much ZEN you have.

Thanks for publishing this, will update OP

Mining will begin at next block after the chain split. Chain split happened at block 110,000, first block mined after launch is 110,001.

We are doing this live 2 blocks from the Coindesk Consensus Blockchain conference in NYC, currently on EDT (-4). This will be 2300-0100 UTC

Yes, if you leave your ZCL on Bittrex when chain split happens at block 110,000 you'll get ZenCash sometime after Zen launches in your Bittrex ZEN wallet.

They said they would put ZCL wallets into maintenance mode 2 hours before block 110,000 happens.

Bittrex commits to supporting ZenCash for for Zclassic held on the exchange:

https://bittrex.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000201171-Support-for-the-ZEN-Hardfork

The ZenCash (ZEN) network is anticipated to launch on May 23rd at 5pm PDT (0:00 UTC) as a hard fork from Zclassic (ZCL).  Bittrex users will be credited 1 ZEN for each Zclassic (ZCL) held in their exchange accounts at Zclassic block 110,000.  The block is estimated to occur at approximately 22:20 EDT (05:20 UTC) 5/18/2017.

Bittrex will credit the ZEN tokens and enable the market when we and the ZEN team agree the new proof of work mining network is stable. The ZCL market will be re-enabled and all orders cancelled within 24 hours after the fork block.  

Note: Bittrex will be closing our ZCL wallet and market within two hours of the fork block to take accurate snapshots of balances. If your deposits are not settled (e.g. marked as pending) by 21:00 PDT 5/18/2017, you may not be credited with ZEN.

Please note that the full 3 day gap between block 110,000 and the May 23rd launch will be used to generate and distribute the ZenCash genesis block, which importantly implements replay attack mitigation in the new client release.

We would like to thank the ZEN team for working closely with us and addressing our concerns.  Distribution through hard forks like this one are not typically supported by Bittrex but strong replay protection and a commitment by both teams to maintain the ZCL and ZEN forks and their independent missions swayed our decision making.

The Zen team has put out a detailed description of the process:

https://blog.zencash.io/big-news-chain-split-from-zclassic-now-at-block-110000/

For more information on ZenCash and the Zen Platform, you can visit https://zencash.io and read the white paper. <--insert hyperlink: https://zencash.io/assets/Zen%20White%20Paper.pdf

_______________________________________________________________________________ ____________________
The launch of ZenCash will take place on May 23rd between 7-9 PM EST in New York City to correspond with http://www.coindesk.com/events/consensus-2017/ CoinDesk’s Consensus event.

Subscribe to our mailing list on our main website to engage with the Zen Community and receive early bird perks. White paper has been released at https://zencash.io/assets/Zen%20White%20Paper.pdf

Find out more about ZenCash here:
ZenCash Website - https://zencash.io
ZenCash Blog - https://blog.zencash.io/
ZenCash Slack Invite - https://slackinvite.zencash.io/
ZenCash Telegram - https://t.me/zencash
ZenCash on Bitcointalk - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1819977.0
ZenCash YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ0v_lUnZHIKUQUXJzfgqOg
ZenCash Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/zencash/
ZenCash Wiki - https://wiki.zencash.io/
ZenCash Blog on Medium - https://medium.com/zencash
ZenCash on Twitter - https://twitter.com/zencash_io
ZenCash on Github - https://github.com/zencashio

Yes it is ok but use the one at this link because it is a prebuilt windows binary https://github.com/zencashio/eleos

Last night, as our ZenCash developers were getting close to having the launch version of the ZenCash node software available for download and testing, and as they were talking through the exact process for the launch, they realized there were things they could do to reduce risk on launch day.

After having a discussion, the ZenCash core team decided to spread out the launch process over 1 week.

This is a change!

Previously we had said any Zclassic you held up until launch on May 23 would be converted 1 for 1 into ZenCash. Now it is only Zclassic up to and including Zclassic block 110,000.

We are still going to launch ZenCash on May 23 - we are inserting a one week pause to get everything ready. This will make the launch go much more smoothly. And because it gives our exchange and mining pool partners time to stage their servers, prepare the ZenCash block chain for launch, and test their systems, it means the process is going to be better for everyone.

We just have to spread the word that any Zclassic you purchase after block 110,000 will not get you any ZenCash.

After the blockchain split, Zclassic will continue as before. It is a great community version of Zcash, there are active developers, and it will continue to be a viable cryptocurrency.

On May 23, we are going to launch ZenCash. That means there will be a period of about 1 week you will have to wait, from block 110,000 on the Zclassic blockchain, until the ZenCash block 110,001 starts at the launch.

Closer to launch, Josh (movrcx) will generate the Zcash Genesis block. This is the same exact thing that Josh did to start the Zclassic blockchain. It worked out well then, and it will work out well this time. Josh is the lead developer on Zclassic, on ZenCash, on the Eleos Equihash wallets, and on z-nomp, the open source Zclassic and ZenCash mining pool software. Josh and the ZenCash development team will do a great job with this process.
 
The Genesis block will get sent to Bittrex and mining pool operators closer to the launch date.
 
Josh is writing something specific in the ZenCash node software that will prevent people from mining on top of the Genesis block until the launch. The ZenCash blockchain will not go live until the launch.
 
Josh will be doing the actual launch live at our event at The Attic in NYC. This is an invitation only event for ZenCash supporters, industry people, investors, cryptocurrency and financial bloggers, youtubers, and reporters. We are inviting people to attend the event, will provide a short presentation on what Zen and ZenCash is all about, do the launch, then celebrate!
 
After the launch we are going to move to the bar in the Attic to continue the celebration - this is open to all who want to come join the fun!
We've anticipated some questions you may have:

Question: What is the current block?

Answer: Look here at the Zclassic block explorer. Right now it is about block 104,800

Question: When will block 110,000 happen?

Answer: Should be sometime on Tuesday May 16. There is usually 24 blocks per hour.

Question: Will Bittrex support ZenCash? Will Bittrex support leaving Zclassic on the Exchange before block 110,000? Do I need to pull my Zclassic off the exchange into a private wallet before block 110,000?
 
Answer: The ZenCash team has updated the zencash node software to incorporate replay protection. By freezing the blockchain one week before launch, this give Bittrex time to put in place the ZenCash node software, test it, and copy over the Zclassic private keys of their account holders.
 
We are doing everything we can do to work with Bittrex, who is a great partner, to make this a smooth process. Bittrex will announce their support or non-support for the ZenCash fork from Zclassic on their own initiative and timeline.
 
Question: Will anything else change last minute that you have not told us about?
 
Answer: We are doing our best to make this a transparent and well publicized launch. There might be other things that come up. I can imagine things that might delay the launch, or other issues that surface.
 
Our team has a proven track record of success with Zclassic, we are working hard to make this a good and fair cryptocurrency that everyone has an opportunity to invest in before launch, and we will provide an opportunity for everyone to contribute through a governance system with proposals, projects, voting, and allocation of funds to worthwhile work.
 
We have multiple channels of information and will continue to communicate with you all thought the process over the next two weeks.
 
Thanks for being a part of the community!


Background

Zen is a system of products, services, and businesses built around an enabling technology stack employing zero-knowledge proofs and a core set of beliefs.

As a distributed blockchain system leveraging the latest censorship-evading techniques, fully encrypted communications, and a social and governance model designed for long term viability, Zen will contribute to the human right to privacy and provide the necessary networking infrastructure for people to securely collaborate within a borderless ecosystem.

The launch of ZenCash will take place on May 23rd in New York City to correspond with CoinDesk’s Consensus event.

Subscribe to our mailing list (see link upper right part of page) to engage with the Zen Community and receive early bird perks. Stay tuned for our white paper; should be released any day now!

More Information and video at original post:
https://blog.zencash.io/big-news-chain-split-from-zclassic-now-at-block-110000/

Find out more about ZenCash here:
ZenCash Website - https://zencash.io
ZenCash Blog - https://blog.zencash.io/
ZenCash Slack Invite - https://slackinvite.zencash.io/
ZenCash Telegram - https://t.me/zencash
ZenCash on Bitcointalk - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1819977.0
ZenCash YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ0v_lUnZHIKUQUXJzfgqOg
ZenCash Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/zencash/
ZenCash Wiki - https://wiki.zencash.io/
ZenCash Blog on Medium - https://medium.com/zencash
ZenCash on Twitter - https://twitter.com/zencash_io
ZenCash on Github - https://github.com/zencashio

Yes it will require work for Bittrex to add ZenCash to the exchange, and for Bittrex to export Zclassic private keys and import ZenCash private keys. Bittrex requires replay protection in the code to make this happen.

Yes it would be great to be able to keep it on Bittrex. Ball is in ZenCash project's court to provide a version of ZenCash and an update to Zclassic that provides replay protection so transactions can't be rebroadcast on other blockchain using common private keys.

That code update is undergoing test right now, and expect to have tested and committed version soon.

Mining algorithm for ZenCash is the same as for Zcash and Zclassic, Equihash.

ZenCash team is making sure the different stratum mining application will work with newest version of ZenCash node software.

Zen is a system of products, services, and businesses built around an enabling technology stack employing zero-knowledge proofs and a core set of beliefs.

As a distributed blockchain system leveraging the latest censorship-evading techniques, fully encrypted communications, and a social and governance model designed for long term viability, Zen will contribute to the human right to privacy and provide the necessary networking infrastructure for people to securely collaborate within a borderless ecosystem.

The launch of ZenCash will take place on May 23rd at 7 PM EST in New York City to correspond with http://www.coindesk.com/events/consensus-2017/ CoinDesk’s Consensus event.

Subscribe to our mailing list on our main website to engage with the Zen Community and receive early bird perks. Stay tuned for our white paper!

Find out more about ZenCash here:
ZenCash Website - https://zencash.io
ZenCash Blog - https://blog.zencash.io/
ZenCash Slack Invite - https://slackinvite.zencash.io/
ZenCash Telegram - https://t.me/zencash
ZenCash on Bitcointalk - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1819977.0
ZenCash YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ0v_lUnZHIKUQUXJzfgqOg
ZenCash Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/zencash/
ZenCash Wiki - https://wiki.zencash.io/
ZenCash Blog on Medium - https://medium.com/zencash
ZenCash on Twitter - https://twitter.com/zencash_io
ZenCash on Github - https://github.com/zencashio

working on that, will have it out in next week