Zen Coin

Zen Coin is a decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrency built as a final year project. It is essentially a simplified version of Bitcoin, designed to demonstrate the core principles of blockchain, wallets, mining, transactions, and simple decentralized networking without the full complexity of Bitcoin.

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Demo

• GUI Wallet:

zen_coin_gui_wallet_demo.mp4

• TUI Wallet:

zen_coin_tui_wallet_demo.mp4

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Features

• Blockchain implementation from scratch
• UTXO-based transaction model
• Peer-to-peer decentralized node communication
• Mining with Proof-of-Work
• Transaction validation and propagation
• CBOR-based blockchain persistence
• TUI Wallet Interface
• GUI Wallet (Tauri + Rust + TypeScript)

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Tech Stack

• Rust ==> Core Backend
• Ratatui (for TUI wallet)
• TypeScript ==> Frontend (GUI Wallet)
• Tauri ==> Connecting Backend and Frontend
• HTML/CSS

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Getting Started

1. Install Rust

To run this project, Rust must be installed.

We recommend using Rustup, the official Rust installer.

Official website: https://rustup.rs/

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Linux / macOS

Open terminal and run:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Follow the on-screen instructions.

After installation, restart your terminal.

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Windows

1. Visit: https://rustup.rs/
2. Download the Rustup installer
3. Run the installer
4. Follow the on-screen instructions

After installation, restart Command Prompt / PowerShell.

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2. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/defau1tuser0/zen_coin.git
cd zen_coin

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3. Build the Project

Compile the full project:

cargo build --release

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Running the System

The recommended order is:

1. Start Node
2. Generate Wallet Keys
3. Start Miner
4. Start Wallet

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4. Run the Node

cargo run --release --bin node -- [OPTIONS] [INITIAL_NODES...]

Options

Option	Description
--port <PORT>	Set port number (default: 9000)
--blockchain-file <FILE>	Blockchain storage file (default: ./blockchain.cbor)

Example

cargo run --release --bin node -- \
  --port 9000 \
  --blockchain-file ./my_blockchain.cbor \
  127.0.0.1:9001 \
  127.0.0.1:9002

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6. Run the Miner

cargo run --release --bin miner -- \
  --address <NODE_ADDRESS> \
  --profile <PROFILE_NAME>

Example

cargo run --release --bin miner -- \
  --address 127.0.0.1:9000 \
  --profile alice

This allows mining rewards to be sent to your wallet.

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7. Run the Wallet

cargo run --release --bin wallet -- [OPTIONS]

Options

Option	Description
-c, --config <FILE>	Wallet config file (default: wallet_config.toml)
-n, --node <ADDRESS>	Node address

Example

cargo run --release --bin wallet -- \
  --profile alice

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GUI Wallet

cd zen-wallet-gui

pnpm tauri dev

APK build(Android Studio required)

cd zen-wallet-gui

pnpm vite build; pnpm tauri android build --release --target <processor_architecture>

Example

pnpm vite build; pnpm tauri android build --release --target aarch64

If --release'd apk isn't working for some reason try --debug

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Project Structure

zen_coin/
│
├── lib/              # Core blockchain logic
├── node/             # P2P node implementation
├── miner/            # Mining system
├── wallet/           # Wallet system
├── gui-wallet/       # Tauri GUI wallet
│
└── blockchain.cbor   # Persistent blockchain storage

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Educational Purpose

Zen Coin is not intended for production use.

It is built for:

• learning Bitcoin architecture
• understanding blockchain internals
• studying UTXO transaction systems
• exploring decentralized networking
• academic final year project demonstration

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Author: I

Developed as a Final Year BCA Project

Project Name: Zen Coin Inspired by: Bitcoin Reference:

• https://braiins.com/books/building-bitcoin-in-rust
• https://guide.summerofbitcoin.org/the-proposal-round/getting-started-with-bitcoin

Also used Vibe conding heavily via Codex and Gemini CLI.

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