Zcash Releases Open-Source Code for Private-Only iOS and Android Wallets

Electric Coin Company (ECC), which oversees the development of Zcash (ZEC), has released the source code for shielded-only iOS and Android wallets.

ECC announced the publication of the open-source code on Twitter on June 10. While the release does not come in the form of ready-built wallet applications for iOS or Android, it gives developers the free tools to build their apps.

ECC Releases Open-Source Shielded Wallet Code

The ECC team posted its open-source code to Github on June 10. The team announced via Twitter:

Today, ECC released the source code for prototype wallet applications built on our SDKs. These are reference implementations for fully-functional, shielded-only, Android- and iOS-native applications. Direct links and more info in this thread. 👇👇👇 (1/6)#z2z #Zcash $ZEC pic.twitter.com/zhjQ9X7ODk

— Electric Coin Company (@ElectricCoinCo) June 10, 2020

Zcash is the second-largest privacy coin by market cap and offers users the option of sending either transparent or shielded transactions. Shielded transactions are private, and obscure the identifying details of both the sender and receiver.

Electric Coin Company said it viewed the release of the code as a “significant milestone.” It tweeted: “We view this as a significant milestone in our efforts to increase shielded address adoption, improve user experience, and empower economic freedom.”

ECC made sure to note that these are not ready-built wallet apps in themselves, but will provide the tools for others to build them. The team wrote: “As these wallets are reference implementations, the apps themselves will not be available on any app store, but the code is open source and available to everyone.”

Ball Is In Zcash Community’s Court

Not everyone reacted positively to ECC’s Twitter announcement. CEO of the Nym project, Harry Halpin, tweeted in response:

“TBH, it would be good if this code was packaged into a real-world wallet ASAP and just made available on app stores. Other than not wanting to maintain the wallet, what’s the argument?”

ECC stated in the official Github release that this did not equate to an official product of ECC, but should be viewed as a learning tool, and as a community development resource. The team went further – telling its community members to pick up the reigns and produce the apps they want to see.

“We will continue to develop, improve and release new code updates for the prototypes. But, wallet teams and developers, the ball is in your court,” tweeted ECC.