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-# mesmeric
-secret projects
+# Zcash/Cosmos Pegzone
+
+This repo will eventually contain an implementation of a [Cosmos] [peg
+zone][pegzone] that bridges the Cosmos ecosystem to the Zcash shielded pool.
+For now it contains design notes and planning.
+
+## Zcash-to-Cosmos Peg
+
+This will produce Cosmos-ZEC on a Cosmos pegzone, connected by [IBC] to the
+rest of the Cosmos network.  Each unit of Cosmos-ZEC is backed 1:1 by ZEC in
+the Sapling shielded pool, and secured by capital staked with the pegzone
+validators.  Zcash users can send ZEC to a pegzone z-addr with a Cosmos address
+in the transaction's memo field.  The pegzone z-addr is controlled by a set of
+Tendermint validators, who can detect that the transaction occurred and come to
+consensus that coins have been received.  When this happens, they mint an
+identical amount of Cosmos-ZEC and send it to the specified Cosmos address.
+
+## Cosmos-to-Zcash Peg
+
+Cosmos-ZEC holders create a transaction that specifies a z-addr and burns
+Cosmos-ZEC.  As the pegzone validators reach consensus on theCosmos-ZEC
+transaction, they use distributed signing on the spend authorization key to
+prepare a Zcash transaction that releases the burned amount of ZEC to the
+z-addr specified in the Cosmos transaction.  
+
+# Components
+
+## Distributed Key Generation for RedJubjub
+
+The validators for the pegzone need to perform distributed key generation (DKG)
+for the pegzone address's spend authorization key.  This will use a forthcoming
+construction by Chelsea Komlo.
+
+Because the validators collectively control the pegzone address, the validator
+set cannot change without changing the pegzone address.  This means that unlike
+other Cosmos chains (e.g., the Cosmos Hub), the validator set cannot change at
+any block but only at specified epochs.  This will likely involve some kind of
+3-phase key rotation schedule (previous/current/next), with mechanisms to
+ensure that funds sent to the previous pegzone address (e.g., close to the
+rollover boundary or by mistake) are not permanently lost, and that the next
+pegzone address is available in advance (so that software using the pegzone can
+have continuity).
+
+## Distributed Signing for RedJubjub
+
+The validators for the pegzone need to perform distributed signing (DKG) to
+produce signatures with the pegzone address's spend authorization key.  This
+will use a forthcoming construction by Chelsea Komlo.
+
+Transaction generation should be integrated with the pegzone's consensus
+mechanism, but the details are yet unspecified.  Ideally, as the pegzone
+validators come to consensus on transactions burning Cosmos-ZEC, they should
+also come to consensus on the signature for the withdrawal transaction.
+
+## Transaction Monitoring
+
+The validators for the pegzone need to be able to scan the Zcash chain for
+pegzone-related transactions and determine whether or not they occurred.  In
+the first iteration of the design this will use a light client approach, and in
+a later iteration, reuse the components of [Zebra] as libraries.
+
+To determine whether funds have been sent to the pegzone address, the
+validators share an [incoming viewing key (IVK)][ivk].  To monitor outgoing
+transactions, the validators also share an [outgoing viewing key (OVK)][ovk].
+The Zcash protocol does not enforce that transactions have a valid OVK, so
+validators must also monitor for improperly published note nullifiers.
+
+## Security / Fraud
+
+The pegzone is secured by capital staked on the behaviour of the pegzone
+validators, whose stake can be slashed in the event of misbehavior, such as
+unauthorized sends or failure to mint Cosmos-ZEC.  Because some behaviour may
+not be traceable to a particular validator, overslashing may be required to
+ensure correct incentives for each validator.  Validators will collect fees on
+Cosmos-ZEC transactions in the pegzone to cover the cost of the capital
+required to secure it.   Multiple pegzones can compete on fees.
+
+Because each pegzone pegs *shielded* ZEC, not transparent ZEC, it acts as an
+additional gateway between a transparent world (in this case, Cosmos) and the
+shielded pool.  This increases the operational complexity of monitoring all
+transactions in and out of the shielded pool, as those now happen in multiple
+places.  It also provides increased privacy for all Zcash users, not just the
+users of the pegzone, by increasing the size of the shielded pool.
+
+However, `Cosmos->Zcash->Cosmos` transfers are likely to have similar problems
+as `t->z->t` transfers.  For this reason, the pegzone will provide a
+transaction planner tool that can prepare a transfer strategy (sharding over
+transparent addresses and time) and produce audit proofs that it executed
+correctly.  This allows users to maintain some amount of privacy outside of the
+shielded pool while still retaining the ability to privately disclose proofs of
+their behaviour to relevant authorities.
+
+## Cosmos State Machine Components
+
+1. Asset issuance module.
+2. User Account balance module.
+3. Asset burning module.
+4. IBC implementation.
+5. IBC fungible token transfer application protocol implementation.
+6. On-chain processing of fraud proofs.
+
+[Cosmos]: https://cosmos.network
+[pegzone]: https://blog.cosmos.network/the-internet-of-blockchains-how-cosmos-does-interoperability-starting-with-the-ethereum-peg-zone-8744d4d2bc3f
+[Zebra]: https://github.com/ZcashFoundation/zebra
+[ivk]: https://zips.z.cash/protocol/protocol.pdf#addressesandkeys
+[ovk]: https://zips.z.cash/protocol/protocol.pdf#addressesandkeys