> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.zecblocks.xyz/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.zecblocks.xyz/introduction.md).

# Introduction

ZB-1 is designed for digital collectibles that can be reconstructed from public Zcash chain data without treating a centralized database as the source of truth.

The first ZB-1 collection is **ZEC BLOCKS**.

Each ZEC BLOCK represents a deterministic artwork derived from a source Zcash block and the `BITMAP_V1` rendering rules. Mining is not Zcash network mining. It is a separate application-level proof-of-work challenge defined by ZB-1.

## Design goals

ZB-1 is built around five goals:

1. **Chain-anchored state** — protocol events are committed through confirmed Zcash transactions.
2. **Deterministic validation** — independent clients should reach the same valid ZB-1 state from the same chain history.
3. **Deterministic art** — the principal artwork can be regenerated from source block data and the published generator rules.
4. **No mandatory central ownership database** — ownership is derived from valid protocol events.
5. **Open verification** — the protocol specification and reference implementation are intended to be publicly auditable.

## What ZB-1 is not

ZB-1 is not a Solidity contract, an EVM token standard, or a native NFT primitive enforced by Zcash consensus.

A Zcash transaction can be valid under Zcash consensus while carrying a message that is invalid under ZB-1. A compliant ZB-1 client ignores protocol-invalid messages.