TL;DR
- Community Vote: Zcash holders and community panels will vote from Nov. 16 to Nov. 30 on a proposal that would remove 50,000 ZEC from the grants treasury.
- Funding Changes: The proposal would end ZCG’s current 8% share of newly issued coins, with those allocations instead accumulating in a new Future Dev and Legal Defense Fund.
- Long-Term Impact: Supporters argue the treasury has grown large enough to fund years of grants. In contrast, the reallocated funds could strengthen incentives for miners.
Zcash holders will begin voting next week on a proposal that could significantly reshape how development funding is managed across the network. The plan would remove 50,000 ZEC from the grants treasury and redirect its value through future mining rewards. Community polls are scheduled to run from Nov. 16 through Nov. 30, allowing stakeholders to weigh in before any potential implementation moves forward.
Proposal Targets Treasury and Future Funding
The draft improvement proposal, authored by co-founders Sean Bowe and Zooko Wilcox, along with Jason McGee, was merged into the specifications repository on Wednesday. According to the proposal, the removal would account for roughly 55% of the 91,453 ZEC held in the treasury based on an October snapshot.
Currently, Zcash Community Grants (ZCG) uses these funds to support developers, wallets, and community initiatives. If approved and later activated through a network upgrade, Zcash Community Grants would be required to remove the coins from circulation within 30 days. Their value would then be credited to the Network Sustainability Mechanism, a reserve activated under the NU7 upgrade that gradually returns ZEC through future block rewards.
The proposal would also end the current arrangement under which ZCG receives 8% of newly created Zcash coins. Instead, those allocations would be directed into a Future Dev and Legal Defense Fund until the network’s next halving event.
Debate Centers on Sustainability and Network Security
Under the proposed framework, nobody would initially be able to spend funds from the new reserve. A separate proposal would need to establish withdrawal rules. Meanwhile, ZCG would retain its remaining treasury and continue distributing grants, and the separate 12% Coinholder-Controlled Fund would remain unchanged.
The debate emerged after Zcash experienced a strong price rally, increasing the value of treasury holdings even as fresh funding continued to arrive. Using an October treasury snapshot, an assumed ZEC price of $1,300, and spending figures from the first half of 2026, the draft estimates the existing treasury could cover approximately 13 years of expenses.
Supporters of the measure argue that Zcash may no longer need such a large treasury. If the 50,000 ZEC reallocation is approved, estimates suggest roughly six years of funding capacity would remain under the assumptions outlined in the proposal.
Before any changes take effect, organizers will review the November polls for what they describe as “rough consensus.” The proposal would still require community support, a network upgrade, and further engineering work before activation. No activation height or reference implementation has been announced.
