Today, the team at Zcoin is pleased to announce its new name: Firo (ticker: FIRO, pronounced “fee-roh”). Firo is not a new blockchain, but a new identity to differentiate ourselves and make financial privacy more accessible to more people.
Why is Zcoin changing its name to Firo?
When Zcoin launched in 2016, we pioneered the use of the Zerocoin protocol. Since that time, innovations by Zcoin and others have made that story less relevant especially since we now use Sigma and currently transitioning to Lelantus. Moreover, despite more than 4 years in the space, the similarity with Zcash is both confusing and misleading: though we both deal with privacy, they’re fundamentally different technologies, based on different priorities and values.
The name ‘Firo’ was chosen for two reasons. First, it establishes a new metaphor of ‘burning’ coins and ‘redeeming’ them later. The concept of melting down coins and forging brand new ones is a great analogy to the way Lelantus works. Secondly, ‘Firo’ is short, universally easy to say and sounds like money. Both of these are geared toward user-friendliness and mass adoption.
Firo conjures up images of something aflame and alive – consisting of fire or burning strongly and brightly, the name is set to evoke a phoenix rising from the ashes. This not only describes the privacy mechanism which burns coins, but also Zcoin’s passion for privacy as a fundamental human right and belief that it should be accessible for all.
If you are interested into a deep dive into the rationale and considerations behind the rebrand, you can watch the designer who did it, Diego Salazar explain more:
What is the timeline for the rebrand?
Today is the reveal of the rebrand to give time to the ecosystem and community to be aware of the change and to make the necessary preparations. This is especially due to the ticker change to FIRO which some exchanges require a longer heads up.
On the 30 November 2020 UTC 0800, the rebrand will take effect and zcoin.io will redirect to firo.org At that time, our wallet and exchange partners will replace the Zcoin name, symbol and logo with that of Firo. We believe this phased approach will minimize any confusion.
Between now and then, we’re working with wallets, exchanges, PR companies and social media influencers to spread the announcement and ensure a smooth transition. The Firo website at firo.org will launch fully in the next few days, and we will also transition our social media accounts from Zcoin to Firo.
What does this mean for Zcoin holders?
Firo will use the same blockchain as Zcoin. There is no chain swap. Current Zcoin holders can use their same credentials to send, receive, burn and redeem Firo. Expect your Zcoin balance to be updated to an identical Firo balance near the end of November.
If you’re holding in an exchange, just pay attention to their announcements. We’ll be working directly with key exchanges to make the transition as seamless as possible.
If you’re holding in a wallet, just make sure you’re using the latest version. If you forget to update your wallet, no problem! Until Lelantus is fully activated in January 2021 you can continue to send and receive Zcoin/Firo with the outdated wallet (though we don’t recommend it).
What about Lelantus?
Our rebrand at the end of November coincides with the release of the Lelantus mainnet binaries with the updated Firo branding, and both changes will go into effect in a single software update.
With the simultaneous launch of Lelantus and Firo, we’re double-down on our founding commitment to financial privacy. Lelantus will itself activate in January to take into account the end of year holidays.
What about StakeHound’s stakedXZC?
Stakehound has confirmed that they are able to change the ticker to stakedFIRO when the rebrand takes into effect.
Where can I get the new logo/resources/updated links for Firo?
Our branding page has all resources necessary together with our logo kit.