Zcash deep monetary assessment
12 dimensions and 96 research questions. Documented facts, interpretations and missing data remain distinct.
All 96 questions are listed; 43 need dedicated data. Coverage does not mean every finding is established.
Monetary constitution / Zcash · L1 · self-custody
| Criterion / research question | Zcash preliminary finding | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
03.01Issuance rulesUnder what conditions are new units created and put into circulation? | ZEC uses scheduled subsidy reductions with a target cap near 21 million. Verification & limitsReplay all issuance routes, burns and fees by height, checking claimed rewards rather than caps alone. | Documented factEvidence records & gaps |
03.02SeigniorageWho receives new units and issuance benefits? Report fees and other income separately. | ZIP 214 specifies funding streams by upgrade era. Historical NU6 rules must be separated from the NU6.1 revision. The retrieved ZIP 1016 page is still Proposed, insufficient to establish a current 8% / 12% mainnet allocation. Verification & limitsSeparate subsidy, fees, funds, channel interest and pool payouts by period. | InterpretationEvidence records & gaps |
03.03PredictabilityCan future quantities or calculation rules be known in advance? Fixed rules need not imply fixed future quantities. | Issuance follows block rules; calendar supply still depends on block production. Verification & limitsSeparate height-based projections from actual block dates and identify rule changes. | InterpretationEvidence records & gaps |
03.04Supply accountingHow many units exist and circulate? How are locks, burns, lost coins and cross-chain tokens counted? | New criterion; a project-specific finding is not yet available. Verification & limitsCheck the project version, implementation and actual use before adding evidence and findings. | Data neededMeasurement neededEvidence records & gaps |
03.05Cap and tail issuanceIs there a supply cap? Does issuance eventually stop or continue at a low rate? | The design has a finite cap rather than a fixed perpetual tail subsidy. Verification & limitsCheck terminal subsidy, unit rounding and non-mining issuance, not a promotional supply figure. | Documented factEvidence records & gaps |
03.06Monetary hardnessWhen price rises, how difficult is it to expand new supply? What time and cost does that require? | Scheduled subsidy does not rise proportionally with price; low price elasticity of supply differs from current dilution and reward allocation. Verification & limitsHold protocol rules constant and distinguish mining expenditure from extra units issued. | InterpretationEvidence records & gaps |
03.07Monetary elasticityCan supply adjust when people want to hold more or less money? How is changing demand identified? | Issuance does not follow a consumption basket and carries no purchasing-power guarantee. Verification & limitsCheck price/demand feedback and separate custodial credit from native supply. | InterpretationEvidence records & gaps |
03.08DiscretionWho can change issuance, allocation or other monetary rules? What limits that power? | Rule-based issuance requires no per-issue permission; upgrades can change rules and need activation records. Verification & limitsInspect issuance privileges, upgrade authority and exceptions; open source alone does not remove discretion. | InterpretationEvidence records & gaps |
Scope: native assets, L1 and self-custody. Zcash, MWEB and channels are path-specific; pinned HAC code is separate from deployed-mainnet evidence. Each criterion includes a review method, without a mainnet replay audit or independent peer review.