Understand it before you use it.
How the reference protocol works, what remains private, and where trust is still required.
A coin on a ledger.
The original Snowline protocol reads instructions from Zcash payment memos and uses its own rules to calculate balances. These balances are not native Zcash assets, and there is no smart contract enforcing them.
A holder key authorizes movements of a balance. The original operator runs the ledger and holds sale funds. A future conversion to native assets is an intention, with no guaranteed availability or date.
Private payments.
Public protocol records.
Public in the protocol
- Decoded memo instructions
- Holder identifiers and balances
- Coin tickers, supply and prices
- Recorded payment amounts
Keep secret
- Your wallet seed and private keys
- Your holder signing key
Shielded transactions can protect sender information. That does not make published memos or holder activity private.
Activity using the same holder ID can be linked. Do not put personal information or secrets in a protocol memo. The published viewing key enables others to inspect incoming protocol data.
Follow the funds.
- Buying in a sale
- ZEC is received and held by the original operator. The balance is calculated by the ledger after the required confirmations.
- Selling to another holder
- A take instruction may move coins before the seller is paid. The updated original rules describe automatic operator payouts, with signed failures flagged for manual review.
- Overpayments and failed instructions
- Refunds can be automatic when the buy or take memo includes a refund address. An invalid memo may be ignored even though its ZEC has arrived.
- Timing and support
- The original site describes sending batches every half minute, typically within about a minute. This is an operator estimate, not a settlement guarantee. A host with only a viewing key cannot send. Signed failures are not automatically retried.
The original service's settlement obligations cannot be fulfilled by this redesigned demo.
Five documented actions.
SNOW deployCreate a ticker with a fixed supply and price.
SNOW buyBuy whole coins at the fixed sale price.
SNOW sendMove a balance with a holder-key signature.
SNOW askOffer coins for sale and lock the offered balance.
SNOW takePay for an available offer and receive the coins.
The original documentation refers to cancelling offers but did not show a cancellation command in its instruction list. This preview does not invent one.
Protocol numbers, in one place.
| Deploy fee | 0.00100 ZEC |
|---|---|
| Transfer dust | 0.00001 ZEC, plus wallet network fees |
| Ledger confirmations | 2 |
| Ticker length | 2–8 characters; first paid deployment wins |
| Platform trading fee | Original site states no per-trade platform fee |
| Outgoing network-fee reserve | 0.00015 ZEC per payment |
| Change retained as dust | Below 0.00025 ZEC |
| Memo capacity | 512 bytes |
A zero platform trading fee does not mean transactions are free. Network fees, deploy fees and outgoing reserves are separate.
Memo formats documented by Snowline
Reference syntax only. Square brackets mean an optional field. Do not send these placeholders as a payment memo.
SNOW deploy TICKER supply price creatorClaims a ticker; supply and price become fixed. The site’s UI converts price for the protocol—do not assume the raw memo uses the same decimal display units.
SNOW buy TICKER holder [refundaddress]Buys whole coins, never beyond the available supply. A refund address allows automatic return of eligible change.
SNOW send TICKER amount to nonce signatureMoves a balance, authorized by the holder signature; the payment carries dust.
SNOW ask TICKER amount price payoutaddress nonce signatureLocks coins in a sale offer and supplies the seller’s payout destination.
SNOW take askid holder [refundaddress]Takes an offer and records seller proceeds, paid by the operator less the outgoing network fee.
The original page refers to offer cancellation but does not include its syntax in this list. This preview has no invented cancellation command.
From deployment to native assets
- DeployA paid memo records the ticker and fixed terms.
- SaleWhole coins are purchased at the fixed price.
- SoldSupply can sell out; holder balances and secondary offers remain ledger records.
- Assets · Future intentThe original site intends a 1:1 conversion when compatible native assets become available. It gives no guaranteed date.
The original site refers to Zcash Shielded Assets specifications ZIP 226 and ZIP 227. Its upgrade and audit statements have not been independently verified here; no dated network-upgrade promise is made in this redesign.
A few useful answers.
Do I need to connect a wallet?
The original service uses Zcash payments with memos rather than a browser-wallet connection. A compatible wallet is still required for real payments. This preview needs no wallet.
What does a launch cost?
The original site lists a 0.00100 ZEC deploy fee. Wallet network fees are additional. This preview is free and creates no real assets.
Can I recover a lost holder key?
The original rules say the operator cannot reset a holder key. Back it up before using it. A Zcash wallet backup is not a backup of your separate Snowline holder key.
Are these live figures?
No. The directory uses a labeled historical snapshot. Demo activity stays in your browser and does not change the original site.