Zaki Manian, a prolific contributor in the blockchain space, has joined the Electric Coin Co. (ECC) technical advisory board.
Manian has deep expertise in cryptography and distributed consensus systems; serves as executive director of Trusted IoT Alliance; and is an advisor to Cosmos, Tendermint, and several other investment funds and startups in the space.
ECC: Tell us a little bit about Cosmos and why it might be relevant to the Zcash community.
Manian: Cosmos is a set of protocols intended to make blockchain state machines more useful, secure and available to the world. We pioneered the idea of using classical consensus protocols and adapting them to the world with the Tendermint consensus engine. Once we demonstrated that this class of fast blockchain worked in a permissionless setting, we expect to see hundreds or thousands of chains appearing the near future. IBC is a protocol for connecting fast blockchains together.
The Zcash community may want to experiment with alternative, [more efficient] consensus like Proof of Stake. Iqlusion is working with the community already to build a bridge between the shielded pool and the Cosmos IBC network. This will enable using ZEC in the emerging ecosystem of the DeFi applications on Cosmos.
ECC: In your opinion, how will the privacy conversation be different in 5 years, globally?
Manian: As blockchains become more geopolitically relevant, privacy is going to be a key parameter of competition. I think we may see unexpected outcomes. For instance, Commmunist Party of China-supported chains may embrace privacy abroad while eliminating it domestically.
ECC: Who should we be following on Twitter?
Manian: I’m pretty excited about Ismail Kofhi’s and Mustafa Al-Bassam’s new startup LazyLedger.
