Shielded Yield

TL;DR: Your shielded tokens earn yield automatically. No staking, no lock-ups—just hold and earn.

The Problem

Most privacy protocols treat your tokens like a safety deposit box. You put money in, you take money out. The tokens sit idle the entire time.

In DeFi, idle capital is wasted capital. Why should privacy cost you yield?

How It Works

Every ZORB Cash note tracks a reward_accumulator—a snapshot of total protocol rewards at the time the note was created.

When you spend a note, the protocol calculates:

your_rewards = current_accumulator - note_accumulator

The difference is your share of rewards that accumulated while your note existed.

Example

Day 1: Deposit 100 SOL
       Note records accumulator = 1.0000

Day 30: Withdraw
        Current accumulator = 1.0523
        Your rewards = 100 × (1.0523 - 1.0000) = 5.23 SOL

You withdraw 105.23 SOL

Where Yield Comes From

The shielded pool earns yield from protocol revenue:

• Transaction fees
• Protocol treasury earnings
• Partner integrations

Yield is distributed proportionally to all shielded balances based on time held.

Privacy Preserved

Importantly, yield accrual doesn't compromise privacy:

• Reward calculations happen inside the zero-knowledge proof
• Observers see withdrawals but can't tell how much was principal vs. rewards
• Your yield rate doesn't reveal your balance or deposit time

No Action Required

Unlike staking:

• No lock-up periods
• No claiming transactions
• No gas costs to compound

Your shielded balance earns automatically. Just hold.

See Also

• Key Hierarchy — Spending vs. viewing keys
• Nullifier Epochs — How we keep costs low
• Circuit Design — How yield is calculated in ZK proofs