According to what was reported by the founder of the Zcash protocol in a recent blog post, the PoW blockchain could soon undergo an upgrade to Proof of Stake.
The historic cryptographic network, always oriented towards user privacy, would derive many benefits from this transition, as reflected by the visionary Zooko Wilcox.
In the meantime, there is discussion about how all this would positively impact the price action of the crypto ZEC, currently weakened by the strong selling pressure.
All the details below.
The founder of Zcash Zooko Wilcox reflects on the advantages of a transition to Proof of Stake
A few days ago Zooko Wilcox, founder of the famous privacy-protocol Zcash, published a blog post in which he reflects on the potential advantages of a transition of the chain to Proof of Stake.
After 8 years since the launch of the chain under the consensus mechanism PoW, it seems to be time for an upgrade to a hybrid system.
The staking will assume a crucial role in its vision of the cryptographic infrastructure of Zcash.
*It’s time to upgrade Zcash to (hybrid) Proof-of-Stake*
The creation and distribution of ZEC coins by the Proof-of-Work mining algorithm was a necessary first step. It allowed individuals to acquire ZEC when they didn’t have any and couldn’t acquire it any other way. 
— zooko
ⓩ (@zooko) August 9, 2024
In the financial markets, the terms “bull” and “bear” are often used to describe market trends. A “bull” market is characterized by rising prices, while a “bear” market is characterized by falling prices. Understanding these terms is crucial for investors.
In particular, the Proof of Stake will allow the implementation of two specific technical improvements. On one hand, the creation of the “Fondo di sostenibilità Zcash” which guarantees the long-term sustainability of the network. On the other hand, the “Crosslink” update which will lay the foundations of PoW while maintaining Zcash’s track record of excellent security.
The advantages of Proof of Stake include primarily the enabling of staking for ZEC holders, with potential reduction of the downward selling pressure.
Then we find a supply of purposes that protects users from rollback attacks, reduces transaction times, and provides greater bridge interoperability.
In all this, the founder Wilcox has not, however, developed technical specifications and has not provided an actual date for the update.
In the meantime, The Electric Coin Company (ECC), the company behind the development of Zcash, has announced the transition of Zooko to Shielded Labs.
This represents an independent organization based in Switzerland dedicated to the support of Zcash and the Proof of Stake blockchain.
Shielded Labs has recently received significant donations from highly respected figures such as Vitalik Buterin, one of the major supporters of the concept of privacy.
The funds will be used to expand Zcash initiatives and collaborate with ECC to prioritize the development and implementation of Crosslink.
Congrats to @zooko and Shielded Labs! 
This news is a win for the Zcash community, and we look forward to collaborating with Shielded Labs on Zcash hybrid PoW/PoS. https://t.co/VL7eACvkZq
— Electric Coin Co. (@ElectricCoinCo) August 8, 2024
The comment of experts in the cryptographic sector regarding the Proof of Stake update
Vitalik Buterin is not the only expert to have supported the transition of Zcash from a PoW network to a hybrid Proof of Stake.
A few hours ago Tyler Winklevoss, one of the two brothers who own the Gemini exchange and authors of the historic legal dispute against Mark Zuckerberg, revealed his support for the cause. The visionary entrepreneur, brother of Cameron, published a post in which he states that Zcash represents one of the most underrated crypto projects in the world.
The focus on privacy and decentralization, at the expense of scalability, are the two founding elements of the free society in the web3 world.
Zcash is one of the most important and underrated crypto projects in the world today. It brings privacy and decentralization to money, two fundamental building blocks of a free and open society. That's why I'm supporting @ShieldedLabs and its contributions to Zcash. Onward! https://t.co/DwT3SSOUjX
— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) August 11, 2024
In the world of finance, the terms “bull” and “bear” are often used to describe market trends. A “bull” market is characterized by rising prices, while a “bear” market is marked by falling prices. Understanding these concepts is crucial for investors.
The Winklevoss brothers, just like the founder of Ethereum, have financially sponsored the update to the Proof of Stake protocol.
Relying on Shielded Labs, they have indeed indirectly provided financial and intellectual support for the cause, accelerating potential technical developments.
Other faces of investors known in the crypto sector such as Awa Sun Yin, Christopher Goes, and Adrian Brink from the Anoma Foundation are added to them.
There are also other individual players like Kevin Owocki, Kelcie Liddell, zerodartz, Jason McGee, Alan Fairless, and other anonymous hodlers.
As reported by Zooko, founder of Zcash, regarding the union with the decentralized autonomous association:
“This is the beginning of the next phase of Zcash. I am thrilled and grateful to have the opportunity to contribute. I will join Shielded Labs because I trust its founder, Jason McGee, and because Shielded Labs honors the hodlers of ZEC.”
Analysis and future forecast of Zcash (ZEC) crypto prices
As mentioned, the Proof of Stake update could revive the speculative fortunes of ZEC, crypto of the Zcash protocol.
The current Proof of Work consensus mechanism, as specified by Zooko in his blog post, has exerted strong downward selling pressure on the token for 8 years.
While on one hand it allowed the acquisition of new ZEC by users engaged in the long-term mission, on the other hand it had visibly negative implications.
According to Messari’s data, since July 2019 Zcash has increased the circulating supply of ZEC by as much as 8.2 million new coins.
All this translates into a 60% drop in current ZEC prices compared to that date.
Now that Zcash is more autonomous and can rely on its own strengths, the update to Proof of Stake could give a bullish touch to the cryptocurrency of the project.
Consider that since March 2022 the quotations of ZEC have dropped by about 80%. If we take as a reference the prices of November 2021, the downtrend increases further.
Only in the last period the privacy coin par excellence has seen a bit of green on the charts, doubling its value from the month of July to today.
The technical improvements to the blockchain and the ambitions for a future network that competes with the top infrastructures in the sector have brought the bulls back to the ZEC exchanges.
Now, however, the real challenge begins, which will see this token attempt to recover the ground lost in recent years. The forecasts see a return to the 60-dollar zone by the end of the year or the beginning of 2025. In the medium/long term, it is likely that it will manage to reach 100 dollars again, with performances, however, inferior to those of BTC.
