Zcash delays cryptocurrency launch due to additional audit

The launch of the genesis block of a new cryptocurrency that aims to make possible the anonymity once thought to be provided by bitcoin has been delayed again.

Zooko Wilcox, an early crypto enthusiast and founder of anonymous cryptocurrency startup Zcash, told CoinDesk yesterday that his company will likely delay mining on its blockchain to give multiple third-party auditors time to conduct in-depth code analysis.

In the wake of the collapse of The DAO, a short-lived, much-hyped application on the Ethereum blockchain, the value of these precautions is more apparent than ever.

And Wilcox should know that his security firm, Least Authority, was commissioned to conduct an audit of the Ethereum code.

Although it is widely believed that Ethereum itself was not responsible for the collapse of The DAO, Wilcox now wants to take further precautions by preparing to launch a competing cryptocurrency.

Yesterday, at the American Banker’s Blockchain and Digital Currency Conference, Wilcox said:

“I feel bad that we didn’t make the problems that people faced with the DAO disaster harder.”

As part of his own company’s security, Wilcox hired two firms to audit the code, which is designed to allow anonymity for senders and receivers in transactions while hiding the amounts. The audit took longer than expected.

Earlier this year, Zcash launched a product created by Wilcox and others on the Zerocash protocol. Then, last week, the company updated the product to comply with guidelines for side-channel attacks and other security issues.

Zcash has raised $1 million in venture capital from institutional investors, including Pantera Capital, Digital Currency Group, and Fenbushi Capital. Individual investors Naval Ravikant and Roger Ver also backed the company.

Deploy with caution

Wilcox described his 16 employees, including seven computer scientists, as “world-class,” and said it was important for cryptocurrency developers to frequently collaborate with outside parties to avoid problems like The DAO.

To this end, Zcash hired two independent firms to conduct the audit. After the firms’ analysis is complete, Wilcox said Zcash will publish their names and all of their findings, as well as some of the things LeastAuthority did during the Ethereum code audit.

“The full report examining Zcash will also be published in its entirety,” he said.

To give auditors more time, Zcash’s 1.0 release was delayed earlier this week from Sept. 5 to Sept. 26, and Wilcox expects there could be further delays.

He said the date could be pushed back further in the coming weeks.

He concluded:

"The things you build that are closest to you, whenever you look at them, you remember what you intended. And security holes are often the discrepancy between what you planned and what you actually got."

Emphasis on cooperation

However, the emphasis on collaborative testing extends beyond auditing.

At the Ethereum Foundation/IC3 Bootcamp held yesterday at Cornell University, Zcash Company engineer Sean Bowe presented the results of his work with several other employees.

According to the report, three Zcash Company employees worked with Casey Detrio and others from the Ethereum Foundation to build their cryptographic tools to protect the identities of Ethereum customers.

In conclusion Bowe writes:

“We are committed to promoting the development of Bitcoin and Ethereum and look forward to further collaboration with the broader cryptocurrency community.”