Zcash
Zcash Shielded Assets (ZSAs): The OrchardZSA Protocol
QEDIT designed and built OrchardZSA — the protocol that brings user-defined assets (stablecoins, tokens, NFTs) into Zcash's shielded pool with the same privacy as ZEC.
OrchardZSA is a full protocol, not a feature. Extending Zcash's Orchard shielded protocol, OrchardZSA defines new issuance keys and asset identifiers, a note and commitment structure for custom assets, a version-6 transaction format, consensus rules for supply tracking and finalization, and an updated fee model — specified across two interdependent ZIPs, ZIP 226 (transfer and burn) and ZIP 227 (issuance).
Funded by more than $4M in Zcash Foundation and Community Grants over five years, independently audited by Least Authority, and being merged into Zcash's consensus-critical crates ahead of the NU7 upgrade, ZSAs are among the most substantial protocol design efforts we've undertaken.
For the complete technical reference — specifications, audits, research threads, tooling, and talks — see the ZSA Hub.