Zcash Developers Integrate Tachyon Code to Boost Private Transaction Speed

Zcash begins scaling private payments

Developers behind the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash have started moving code from their proposed scaling upgrade, Project Tachyon, into existing network software. This move involves releasing a new component called Udon into Zakura Common, a shared library used to create and verify private transactions.

The integration is a preparatory step toward a long-term goal of handling more than 50,000 private payments per second. While the code is now available, the full Tachyon upgrade has not yet been activated on the Zcash network.

Key developments in the update

• Udon is the first component of Project Tachyon to be integrated into Zakura Common.
• Zakura Common is a cryptography library jointly developed by Sean Bowe's team and Dev Ojha's Valar Group.
• Previous updates to Common reduced the time to create a private transaction proof from over three seconds to under 200 milliseconds in tests.
• The current network averages about 11,700 transactions involving shielded funds, far below the 50,000 target.

How the new code works

A Zcash wallet must generate a cryptographic proof to validate a private payment without revealing the sender, receiver, or amount. Network computers then check this proof. As usage grows, these computers face increasing data loads.

Project Tachyon aims to reduce this workload by combining proofs from multiple payments into one. This reduces the data nodes must receive and check, though creating the combined proof requires more memory. By moving Tachyon calculations into Common, developers can utilize code that has already been optimized for speed.

Current status and future steps

The release of Udon marks the beginning of the integration process but does not yet demonstrate the full speed capabilities of Tachyon. According to Project Tachyon leader Sean Bowe, the proposed upgrade still requires further development and a security review before it can be activated.

At the targeted rate of 50,000 payments per second, the team estimates that today's cryptography would require each node to process over 500 megabytes of data every second. Tachyon is designed to mitigate this issue.

Source

• CoinDesk