Hello, world! This is ZEOS.
What is ZEOS?
ZEOS is a protocol for private and untraceable transactions on the EOS blockchain. In fact, ZEOS is in exact implementation of the ‘Zcash Orchard’ application that was just recently rolled out on the Zcash mainnet as part of the ‘Network Upgrade 5’. Unlike Zcash, however, ZEOS is built on top of the EOS public blockchain instead of it’s own separate chain. In addition to that and in contrast to Zcash, ZEOS supports several different token symbols of different token contracts and even different token types like fungible, non-fungible and authentication tokens.
So, is ZEOS a new privacy coin?
First and foremost ZEOS is a protocol like Zcash and Monero as well. Unlike those traditional privacy coins though ZEOS enables more than just private transactions for its native cryptocurrency token: Because it is built on EOS it enables private transactions for all assets of the EOS ecosystem including tokenized IOUs of Bitcoin and Ethereum. ZEOS makes any fungible and non-fungible token on EOS a full-fledged privacy coin.
What makes ZEOS special compared to other privacy coins?
All existing privacy coins are built on their very own blockchain. As a consequence they only exist in their own little ‘bubble’. In contrast to that ZEOS is built as an application on top of the EOS general purpose blockchain. This allows for native — i.e. ‘trustless’ — interactions between the private ZEOS world and the transparent EOS world. All assets of the EOS ecosystem can freely move back and forth between public EOS accounts and ZEOS wallets. This is something no other privacy coin can offer, since they are all built on their very own blockchain.
Doesn’t the ability to move assets from a transparent EOS account to a private ZEOS wallet somehow compromise user privacy?
No, not at all. When using ZEOS wallets all transactions are private-by-default. It is similar to the situation of buying Monero on a centralized exchange where the exchange operator knows the identity of his users and can see everything they are doing on his platform. But as soon as users withdraw their Moneros from the exchange into a private wallet no one can trace ownership of those Moneros anymore. The same applies to ZEOS: The moment a user moves an asset from a transparent EOS account to a private ZEOS wallet ownership of his asset becomes fully untraceable.
Is ZEOS better than other privacy coins?
While all existing privacy coins completely lack smart contract functionality ZEOS combines the best of both worlds: By introducing ‘authentication tokens’ ZEOS enables private deposits and withdrawals to any smart contract on the EOS blockchain. Thanks to this token type ZEOS users are able to fully privately interact with decentralized applications on EOS. This enables ZEOS users to natively and hence trustlessly access EOS’ powerful DeFi applications while staying fully anonymous to the public. This is something no existing privacy coin — built on its very own blockchain — can offer its users.
So, is it fair to say that ZEOS enables ‘Private DeFi’?
Private access to DeFi on EOS is probably the most interesting USP of ZEOS. Since privacy coins generally lack smart contracts developer teams who wanted to build private DeFi applications had to tailor their very own Monero-Fork in order to achieve both: Privacy and DeFi on the same blockchain. A good example for such an application is the ‘Haven Protocol’. Haven is a privacy DeFi application which is built on its own Monero-Fork to enable minting of ‘xAssets’ in return for burning an equal amount worth of native Haven tokens. Those xAssets are tokenized financial derivatives of fiat currencies and precious metals.
The problem with this approach is that all assets created on this specific blockchain are ‘trapped’ inside that particular ecosystem. In case of Haven’s ‘xAssets’ for instance, there is nothing users can do with them other than holding them in a wallet. They cannot be used, for instance, as collateral in other DeFi applications outside of the Haven ecosystem because they cannot leave their blockchain.
ZEOS on the other hand is nothing other but an application on EOS itself. So all assets and applications on EOS share the exact same underlying blockchain which enables private access to DeFi assets and applications.
If it is built on EOS, do I need an EOS account in order to use ZEOS?
No, you don’t. ZEOS introduces a concept for private transactions without EOS account based on a transaction fee model. Users will be able to use ZEOS like any traditional cryptocurrency by executing transactions using their private ZEOS wallet instead of an EOS account and by paying transaction fees denominated in ZEOS instead of paying for EOS resources like CPU, NET or RAM directly. This is possible thanks to EOS’ unique and powerful account/permission system as well as EOS’ flexible resource model. ZEOS users will be able to transact privately within the EOS ecosystem but without having to worry about an EOS account or managing any of the EOS blockchain resources themselves.
Is ZEOS a token?
The native ZEOS token has several different roles within the ZEOS ecosystem: It is used as a fee (or gas) token for private transactions without EOS account in which EOS blockchain resources are billed. Furthermore it is the utility token for ZEOS’ own DeFi applications built on EOS.
Can I stake ZEOS and earn rewards?
Yes, ZEOS will be a yielding token driving revenue back to it’s holders who are willing to stake their tokens for a certain amount of time. The ZEOS token will have multiple revenue streams offering attractive returns for stakeholders.
How secure is ZEOS?
Since ZEOS is built as an application on EOS it doesn’t have the same typical proof-of-work attack vectors like most traditional privacy coins have. The privacy technology used is the exact same as in Zcash Orchard which is based on cutting-edge zero knowledge proof technology developed by the cryptographers of the Electric Coin Company.
However, as of now, the zk-SNARK proof verification is too expensive and time consuming to be performed directly on the EOS blockchain at this point in time. This is why ZEOS makes use of a second layer scaling solution called ‘The DAPP Network’ powered by Liquidapps. The vCPU feature of the DAPP network allows for off-loading heavy computation to a set of validator nodes — so-called ‘DAPP Service Provider’ — who simultaneously process the proof verification and push the result on chain afterwards.
While this might at first glance not be an ideal solution for 100% on-chain ‘trustlessness’ the actual amount of trust required in this concept is rather negligible: Since all zero knowledge proofs that are verified by the DSPs are tracked on chain and since the algorithm for proof verification is fully deterministic, it can be proven at any time by anyone if the DSPs are operating honestly or not. It is impossible for DSPs to cheat without getting caught. Thus the amount of trust required is actually close to zero.
In addition to that, all DSPs would have to collude in order to defraud the system. As long as at least one single DSP is honest, fraud becomes impossible. Furthermore, anyone can spin up a DSP at any time and become a ZEOS proof validator themselves increasing the overall number of validating nodes and hence trustlessness. Thus, ZEOS can be considered very secure.
That all sounds very interesting. Where can I learn more?
The whitepaper is the most comprehensive resource to learn about ZEOS at this point in time. All other resources can be found on our website zeos.one and if you want to get in touch with us personally join the Telegram or Discord channels.
