Zcash Completes 'Powers of Tau' Privacy Ceremony

Zcash is one step closer to undertaking an upcoming software change with the completion of its Powers of Tau ceremony.

The ceremony saw developers, community members and other contributors created random code for the zcash privacy protocol in order to make it more secure. Notably, those involved then got rid of the cryptographic "toxic waste" – the random code used to secure the protocol – by destroying their computers or otherwise wiping the machines used to generate the data.

This procedure prevents malicious actors from attacking the protocol or creating counterfeit tokens, as previously detailed by CoinDesk.

Sean Bowe, a member of the Zcash Foundation, announced the completion on the project's mailing list.

He added in the message:

"All of the participants did a wonderful job, and I'm very happy with the diversity and openness of the ceremony. Many members of the crypto and cryptocurrency communities participated or played witness to what took place."

Nearly 90 individuals or teams participated in the ceremony, each using unique methods to generate the cryptographic toxic waste, according to the Foundation's Github page.

The methods used to create – and later destroy – this data ranged from looking at lava lamps to introduce randomness, to using radioactive waste material to generate code.

All of these actions were taken in preparation for the second of two hard forks scheduled for 2018. While some members of the zcash community are preparing for the first hard fork, dubbed Overwinter, Powers of Tau is specifically targeted at the more impactful Sapling hard fork.

Sapling

, as previously reported, will introduce several new features, including a payment disclosure method, inter-blockchain transactions and the issuance of zcash tokens.

Code image via Shutterstock