Zcash co-founder proposes ending grants funding, citing $125 million treasury
Zcash co-founder Sean Bowe proposed ending automatic funding for the Zcash Community Grants program, which receives 8% of newly issued ZEC. He estimates its assets, after grant commitments, at about $125 million at a ZEC price of $1,300—enough to fund years of spending—while the program continues to receive roughly 144 ZEC daily. Bowe would redirect the allocation to the Network Sustainability Mechanism to support future mining rewards, while leaving the grants committee’s existing assets available for awards. The proposal preserves a separate 12% allocation governed by quarterly holder votes. It is a draft with no activation date and would require a network rule change. The proposal follows criticism of a recent grant for privacy-payment outreach, but does not cite that grant as its rationale.
