Zcash's Coming Hard Fork Could Pave the Way for Even More
Privacy-focused cryptocurrency zcash is gearing up for its first hard fork.
And while that may call to mind bitter debates over development or excitement about free coins, actually zcash's first hard fork - dubbed "Overwinter" - isn't about either. Instead, the cryptocurrency's developer team is hoping to lay the groundwork for more dramatic upgrades in the future.
While there are some features being added to zcash in the update, Zooko Wilcox, co-founder and CEO of Zerocoin Electric Coin Company, which develops the network, told CoinDesk, "The purpose of this is to get practice doing network upgrades."
As such, the developer team has been carefully informing the zcash community about the process so "they know how to do this regularly from now on," he continued.
Most of Zcash's developer energy is focused on perfecting Overwinter, which is slated for June, while also looking ahead to zcash's next hard fork upgrade, called Sapling. This subsequent hard fork will usher in a big change, speeding up transactions on the network while maintaining the same level of privacy the cryptocurrency already provides.
Speaking to the names of the upgrades (zcash's software stage is currently called "Sprout"), Wilcox said he foresees a smooth transition.
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