What this isZecnero is a fork of Zebra, the Rust node for Zcash. It keeps the Sapling and Orchard shielded pools and swaps Equihash for RandomX, the CPU-oriented proof of work that has secured Monero since 2019.
The goal is narrow. No machine class should hold a large efficiency edge per watt over a normal desktop CPU. Farms can still win on scale. They can't win by owning better hardware, because better hardware for RandomX looks like the CPU you already have.
This thread exists so the design gets picked apart before launch, while changing it is still cheap.
Allocation| Premine | None |
| ICO / presale / token sale | None |
| Dev fund / treasury | None |
| Blocks reserved for anyone | None |
| Founder stream | 3% of each block subsidy, from block 1 until the first halving at block 1,680,000 |
The founder stream totals
314,999.8125 ZMR, which is
1.5% of total supply. Consensus enforces it. Every block pays it regardless of who mined that block, and it stops permanently at the first halving. It goes to a P2SH multisig script published before launch.
I will also mine at launch with the same public software everyone else uses, from addresses published in advance, so anyone can measure my share of early blocks.
Specifications| Ticker | ZMR |
| Proof of work | RandomX-Zecnero: RandomX v1 reference configuration, only the Argon2 salt changed |
| Block time | 75 seconds |
| Difficulty | ASERT (aserti3-2d), 2 hour half-life, anchored at genesis |
| Block reward | 6.25 ZMR |
| Halving | Every 1,680,000 blocks (about 4 years) |
| Total supply | 20,999,993.5652 ZMR. Issuance ends after 30 halvings. No tail emission. |
| Privacy | Transparent, Sapling and Orchard pools. Sprout removed. |
| Transactions | Version 5 only |
| Coinbase maturity | 100 blocks |
| Max reorg depth | 20 blocks |
Design choices worth arguing about- A private RandomX salt. Monero's RandomX hardware and the rigs on rental markets can't mine Zecnero at launch. Anyone can add the variant to a miner later, and the design doesn't depend on keeping them out. Every other parameter stays at the audited defaults.
- Orchard circuit fix from NU6.2 applied at block 1. Zecnero's rules follow Zcash NU6, except for the NU6.2 Orchard soundness fix and the canonical proof size rule, which apply from the first block.
- Genesis commits to a recent Bitcoin block hash. The genesis timestamp is the public release time. Blocks mined before release would show up against the difficulty schedule.
- 20 block reorg limit plus checkpoints. A small new chain is cheap to attack with rented CPU. Running nodes refuse deep reorganizations. A hashrate-independent finality layer is planned before any exchange listing.
- No tail emission. Same shape as Bitcoin and Zcash. The tradeoff is a fee-only security budget in the long run, and it's open for debate.
MiningThe miner is a fork of XMRig with an
rx/zecnero algorithm, built for Linux and Windows. Solo mining goes through a small bridge between the node and XMRig. A pool comes with launch, and a P2Pool-style decentralized pool is planned afterward.
Reference benchmark:
about 8,200 H/s on an i7-13700KF at 16 threads, Windows, huge pages and MSR mod on, VBS enabled. RandomX wants roughly 2 MB of L3 cache per thread, so running every thread is often slower.
Windows Defender flags the miner as
Program:Win32/Contebrew. It flags stock XMRig the same way. Verify the release SHA-256 and add a folder exclusion. Don't turn off your antivirus.
Hashrate earns its share of blocks. Nothing more is promised. Nobody should buy hardware to mine this.
Status| Protocol specification | Draft published |
| Node: chain identity and issuance | In progress |
| Node: RandomX proof of work | Next |
| Node: difficulty, reorg limit, founder stream | Planned |
| Miner (XMRig fork) | Working, verified against test vectors |
| Node to miner bridge | Built |
| DNS seeder, Docker, installers | Built, waiting on a node binary |
| Public testnet | Not started |
| Mainnet | Not scheduled |
The RandomX-Zecnero hash has been checked across four separate implementations (reference C++, the Rust binding, XMRig on Linux, XMRig on Windows), which agree on all 17 published test vectors.
A public testnet runs for several weeks before any mainnet date gets set. The launch date will be announced here at least a week ahead, together with the founder addresses and the genesis parameters.
Known risks- A new chain has little hashrate. Majority attacks are cheap until it grows.
- CPU-friendly proof of work also suits botnets and stolen cloud accounts.
- Sapling depends on the Zcash Sapling trusted setup. Orchard needs none, and wallets should default to it.
- The node modifies consensus code. It needs outside review before mainnet, and review is welcome now.
- Privacy coins face delisting pressure in several jurisdictions.
Looking for- Review of the protocol specification, the consensus changes in particular
- Rust developers with Zebra or Zcash experience
- Testnet miners on any hardware, especially older machines and ARM
- People willing to run seed nodes
Criticism in this thread is useful. Posting it before launch costs nobody anything.
LinksSecurity issues go to
zecnero@proton.me privately, before any public post.
Zecnero has no price, no market, and no token on any other chain. Any "Zecnero" token you find elsewhere belongs to someone else.
