Thesis, the team behind the cross-chain tBTC token, have vocalized their intentions to bring ZEC to Ethereum in a recent GitHub proposal.
The proposal includes several plans involving the integration of ZEC into the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks as a privacy layer, including a ZEC-backed Ethereum token.
A tZEC token and sidechain
Based on their previous project tBTC, Thesis plan to establish a ZEC sidechain anchored to Ethereum. This will enable ZEC users to trustlessly lock-up their ZEC in exchange for tZEC, an Ethereum-compatible ZEC token.
This will open the floodgates for ZEC interoperability with the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem, as tZEC can be easily integrated into leading platforms such as compound finance.
The other intention behind this is compatibility with decentralized exchanges (DEXes), which will reduce dependence on privacy-jeopardizing centralized exchanges for the acquisition and exchange of ZEC.
tZEC development will consist of two versions, with the full implementation (tZEC v2) enabling user-defined assets on Zcash.
This will ultimately enable stablecoins, Bitcoin, and other digital assets to harness the full privacy of Zcash.
Why stop at Ethereum?
While the Ethereum ecosystem involves the bulk of DeFi applications, Cosmos is another platform of growing interest.
The Thesis team has plans to extend the bridge they are building between Ethereum and Zcash, to also work between Zcash and the lesser-known Cosmos platform.
This will enable the same privacy advantages to be applied across the Cosmos ecosystem, with few requirements of extra development.
Developer fees
To fund their work, Thesis is requesting 25% of the developer fee from the Zcash foundation.
If successful, this could be the beginning of a surge in activity in the Zcash ecosystem and market, which until recently has been relatively underwhelming.
ZEC price has seen two days of bullish price action since the announcement of the proposal, outperforming most other major altcoins over the last few days.
Whether or not this is due to the proposal’s announcement, the Zcash Foundation’s pending approval of the project is something worth watching – and could have transformative implications on the DeFi ecosystem.
