Adventures in Crypto is a weekly series focusing on my journey as a Zcash Foundation operations apprentice. Zcash Foundation is a 501(c) 3 non-profit whose mission is to build a truly private financial payment infrastructure for public use, and they support Zcash and the surrounding cryptocurrency community with research grants.
Sept 30, 2019 – Oct 4, 2019
What I’m Learning:
One cool thing I learned at work last week:
Monero is a competitor, so to speak, to Zcash and they’re also a privacy coin. The main difference between the two is how they approach encryption; Monero uses an older technology called Ring Signatures to encrypt the sender’s data. Zcash uses a newer technology called zk-SNARKs (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge) to encrypt both the sender’s and receiver’s data.
One cool thing I learned outside of work last week:
I’m currently learning Spanish via Duolingo. I wanted to learn Spanish to better connect with my Puerto Rican and Cuban friends and it’s commonly spoken here in Florida.
What I’m Creating:
One example of how I created value at work last week:
I alleviated my boss’s workload by processing bills and adding pieces of information into each grantee’s folder. So these grantees are given money from Zcash Foundation and each one needs a copy of their government ID, tax form, a signed contract agreement, and a screenshot of their name in the OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control).
The OFAC information is especially important. We are a non-profit and it’s imperative that we’re transparent and double-checking to see if the grantee we’re giving money to isn’t on the terror watch-list. We will most likely never find someone on the watch-list but in case it does happen we’ll need to report it to the government.
What project I’m currently working on at my BP:
My boss, Antonie, and I are currently building a database for our main event of the year, Zcon, which is our yearly conference. Additionally, I’m adding new responsibilities to our Master Operations spreadsheet such as how-to steps on domestic and international bill pay, and what to do in SignEasy.
I’m also working on another spreadsheet that I created, with some guidance from Antonie, for our company retreat to Nola. Right now I’m researching places to eat, drink, stay, and activities to do in the French Quarter of Nola.
What I’m doing to become a better version of myself overall:
I’m continuing to use time management apps called Pomotodo and Todoist to help me maintain a balanced work-life schedule, which is essential for remote, stay-at-home jobs. I’m also making time to step outside of my home and interact with friends and people at conferences or other events.