Dontbeevil for ZCG (December 2025)

[dontbeevil]

Hi everyone,

I’m self-nominating for the Zcash Community Grants committee. My north star is simple: fund work that people actually use, back teams that ship fast, and keep discussions calm, clear, and productive so Zcash grows in the real world.

My Zcash Story

A Fortune piece on Zooko pulled me in. The moment zero-knowledge proofs clicked, I knew privacy tech was about to change everything, just like my first Bitcoin transaction in 2014 showed me value could move without middlemen. I started running a node, joined the forums as “dontbeevil” in 2019, and helped with the Sapling MPC ceremony. Quiet room, huge grin, no one to tell, but it felt meaningful. I went all-in on ZEC, took big financial hits when it was deeply unpopular, and never left. Seeing zk become the backbone of modern crypto is the payoff I always believed in.

About me and why this matters to me

Outside Zcash, I’m a public-market investor and a consumer product builder. I watch what users actually do, where markets are moving, and what makes products break through. That lens gives me a bias for clear problem statements, pragmatic tradeoffs, and funding work that ships and compounds.

I’m also deeply passionate about privacy, not as a slogan but as a requirement for a functioning society. Digital cash needs to exist in a world where more of life is intermediated and surveilled by default. I believe Zcash is the right project to make that vision real, and I want to help fund and coordinate the work that turns the tech into something everyday people can use.

What I’ve Contributed (2019 to today)

I’m not a core dev, but I’ve tried to be a steady, high-signal voice on funding, adoption, and making Zcash usable in the real world.

1) Dev Fund and long-run sustainability
In 2019 I drafted the “Full Node / Transactions Directed Dev Fund” proposal as a concrete, incentive-aware path for sustainable post-2020 funding. I stayed deeply engaged through the broader dev fund process and the ZIP-1014 arc, contributing to the debate and helping push toward a workable compromise that kept ECC funded and created the Major Grants program.
Links: https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/dead-dev-fund-proposal-full-node-transactions-directed-dev-fund-was-opt-out-mechanism-for-sharing-block-rewards-by-miners-for-dev-fund/33857 • https://zips.z.cash/zip-1014

2) Grants structure, MGRC/ZOMG/ZCG, and builder incentives
I spent a lot of time in MGRC and ZOMG discussions when the grants machine was straining. In Alarm bells! re ZOMG, I pushed for issuing RFPs and actively courting strong applicants, because builders do not magically appear on their own. I also argued for a clearer grants funnel and for fixing incentives so good teams do not get stalled or left in limbo.
Links: https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/alarm-bells-re-zomg/39909/71 • https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/alarm-bells-re-zomg/39909

3) Shielded adoption and usability
I’ve been an early and loud advocate for default shielded behavior and real z-address usage. I started Leap-frogging zaddr to push for practical adoption paths with wallets and exchanges, and I kept the focus on what actually grows the shielded pool in real life. My view has stayed consistent: shielded pool growth is the single best high-level metric of Zcash success.
Links: https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/leap-frogging-zaddr/36550 • https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/dontbeevil/activity/topics?ascending=false&order=views

My Vision for ZCG

If elected, I’ll focus on four things:

• Users First
  Prioritize grants that remove real friction and grow the shielded pool today.

• Speed plus Accountability
  Milestone payouts, rapid reviews, public dashboards, and no ghosting builders.

• Developer Magnet
  Starter grants, bounties, and targeted RFPs for wallets, SDKs, exchange integrations, and onboarding flows that bring new talent in and scale reach.

• Coordination
  Align ECC, ZF/FPF, and grantees with transparent OKRs and open channels.

Commitments

I’ll read every proposal, participate in every vote and meeting (async when traveling), recuse on conflicts, and push for quarterly impact reports. I have deep skin in the game and the patience this mission demands.

Availability note: I’m traveling the first week of December and will miss the community call. I’ll follow the thread closely and respond to any questions here.

Disclosure: I run the deepcandles X account (https://x.com/deepcandles). I’m also long $CYPH (the Winklevoss Zcash Treasury company) because it helps make Zcash accessible to those who can’t buy or custody ZEC directly today.

Let’s make Zcash more accessible, secure, and widely known.

Thanks for reading,
@dontbeevil on the forum
Long ZEC

[Milton]

I would like to know more about what direction you want Zcash to take.

1. What are your views on the transition to proof of stake? Do you support it, how much of a priority is it to you, general thoughts etc..
2. What are your thoughts on ZSAs, and do you think ZSAs will make a big impact on Zcash? More broadly what are your thoughts on making Zcash programmable by adding private smart contracts?
3. What are your views on layer 2s? Do you think they are a good idea and do you think Zcash needs a layer 2?
4. Do you want to keep or get rid of the transparent pool?
5. Do you think it is more important to focus on making ZEC a store-of-value or a means of payment?

[dontbeevil]

Great questions! Will answer them in next post.

[dontbeevil]

Thanks for asking excellent questions again.

1. Transition to Proof of Stake (PoS)
   I’m cautious about moving Zcash to PoS, mainly because of complexity risk and the store of value narrative. Zcash already has a complex privacy stack; adding a brand new consensus and security model increases tail risk unless the benefits are overwhelming.
   On narrative: the only crypto asset with a durable store of value Schelling point is PoW-based Bitcoin. Ethereum tried “ultrasound money,” but the market never accepted ETH as store of value in the BTC sense, largely because issuance feels less predictable and more governance-mutable. A PoS pivot could weaken Zcash’s chance to occupy the “private PoW money” niche.
   Before we even evaluate a transition, I think we should fund serious research on PoS tradeoffs and strengthen PoW security first through targeted PoW improvements, economic security modeling, and any upgrades that reduce attack surface under PoW. PoS might be worth revisiting later, but the burden of proof is high.

2. ZSAs, tokenization, and programmable or private smart contracts
   Given what I know about tokenization and what issuers are looking for, I’m skeptical that ZSAs are a good use of scarce Zcash resources right now. Issuer mindshare is overwhelmingly on Ethereum, Solana, and major Ethereum L2s like Base. They likely wouldn’t consider Zcash even if ZSA tech existed.
   There’s also an ethos mismatch: tokenization typically expects centralized issuers to be able to mint, freeze, or blacklist, which does not align cleanly with Zcash’s “unstoppable money” principles. And real tokenization needs a powerful, flexible smart contract system, because every issuer has unique requirements. Without a concrete issuer already motivated to build on Zcash, building ZSAs on L1 feels like solving for a market that isn’t there.
   I would rather keep the base layer simple and high assurance, Bitcoin-like but not ossified, and instead add the minimal primitives or opcodes needed to enable serious privacy-preserving L2s, for example a Zcash-settled ZK rollup path like “ZStarknet.” That is where programmability should live.

3. Layer 2s: are they good, and does Zcash need one?
   Yes. L2s are a good idea and Zcash likely needs them if it wants scale and programmability without bloating L1. Base layers should be durable, secure settlement engines; application and experimentation should happen on L2s.
   That’s why my priority is to make L1 the best possible privacy settlement layer and to ship the enabling building blocks for L2s, rather than turning L1 into a general smart contract platform.

4. Transparent pool: keep or remove?
   I used to rally hard for transparent pool deprecation or blocking transparent to transparent mainly to kill “optional privacy” FUD and force shielded pool growth. Those are not my top concerns anymore.
   Shielded adoption will come from usability: reliable mobile wallets, good desktop and web wallets, and hardware support. Also, there are growing ways to buy and use Zcash without relying on big exchanges, so I do not feel a high urgency to force large custodians to support Orchard immediately.
   Net: do not rush removal. Keep the transparent pool for pragmatic compatibility and on-ramps, while continuing to make shielded the clear default path.

5. ZEC as store of value vs means of payment
   Zcash is trying to fulfill Bitcoin’s original mission, peer to peer electronic cash, so focusing on both makes sense. But realistically, means of payment adoption is far away, maybe a decade or two. Even Bitcoin is not used widely for everyday payments; people spend fiat and save BTC.
   What matters now is making Zcash a credible form of unstoppable private money. Wallets must be rock solid, nodes must sync faster, UX must be simple, fees predictable, and scaling and privacy preserved. That’s why I think Project Tachyon-style work is exactly right. It tackles the fundamentals that eventually make Zcash viable digital cash.
   So I would build store of value credibility through reliability and privacy today, and payments follow long term when the world is ready.

[dontbeevil]

@Milton Did you mean Crosslink when you were referring to PoS or pure PoS?

I haven’t researched Crosslink thoroughly enough to offer an informed opinion yet. One concern, though, is that people may still refer to Zcash as a PoS chain, whether out of confusion or intentionally, so that’s something worth factoring in.

[Milton]

No just pos in general

[Batuhan]

Hello Dontbeevil ,

How do you evaluate the role of local communities within the Zcash ecosystem? In your view, how critical are local communities for Zcash’s global growth, awareness building, and adoption? Do you see this as a driving force for progress, and how seriously do you personally take this aspect?

If you are elected to ZCG, what will be your perspective on proposals focused on local community development? Which criteria will you prioritize when reviewing such proposals? For example, how will you approach factors like sustainability, community impact, measurable outcomes, cost-effectiveness, transparency, and alignment with the broader ecosystem? Additionally, how do you believe local community initiatives should contribute long-term value to Zcash?

[gordonesTV]

Greetings!

A more active community presence for Zcash is needed in other European countries, such as Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, the UK, etc.

As a member of the ZCG, what would you propose to make this possible and start building a community presence in these regions?

[dontbeevil]

I see local communities as essential to Zcash’s real-world growth. Global adoption does not happen only through core protocol work or top-down marketing. It happens when people in specific places understand Zcash, trust it, and use it in daily life. Local groups translate Zcash’s value into regional context, build trust through education, and create adoption loops like meetups to wallet installs to merchant usage. They also generate feedback about what users need on the ground.

I would generally support local community proposals when they are designed for durable impact and clear learning. In review, I would prioritize:

1. Clear goal and audience
   Who is it for, and what problem does it solve (awareness, adoption, developer growth, merchant usage, etc.)?

2. Sustainability
   Does it persist past the grant? Is there a plan for leadership continuity, recurring activity, and local partnerships?

3. Measurable outcomes
   Concrete metrics tied to goals, not vanity stats. Examples: repeat attendance, retained wallet users, active merchants after a few months, ongoing contributors, developer projects started. I value honest reporting even when results are mixed.

4. Depth of impact
   Evidence of local relevance. A smaller, active community can matter more than a large one-time event.

5. Cost-effectiveness
   Budget proportional to impact, with reasonable leverage of existing networks, co-funding, or in-kind support when possible.

6. Transparency and execution
   Capable team, clear roles, public updates, and a realistic view of risks and adaptation.

7. Alignment with Zcash values and ecosystem
   Reinforces privacy and self-sovereignty, and connects to other ecosystem work rather than staying isolated.

Over time, local initiatives should build lasting assets: self-maintaining chapters, reusable localized content, adoption pathways from users to use cases to merchants, new contributors, and clear insight into what strategies work region by region.

In short, I strongly support local community development when it is built for durability, measurable learning, and real adoption impact.

Happy to expand on any part of this.

[kworks]

Hi Dontbeevil,

Attracting talented individuals to automate processes for zcash adoption is important for growth.

How will you find and increase cloud architects to design cloud formations to increase zcash adoption?

Do you have any challenges with nodes and wallets located in the cloud servicing zcash users?

Oh, is one zec on a transparent address equal to one zec on a shielded address?

Thanks

[kralux]

@gordonesTV I saw you asked this very interesting question about creating a more active community presence for Zcash in European countries so I’ll allow myself to respond to it.

As a ZCG member, I would incentivize the community behavior through targeted funding. Europe is currently under-served despite being culturally aligned with privacy (e.g., GDPR).

Here are some ideas:

1. Translation and Content. One of the issues in Europe is that there are so many different languages. The language barrier is real and most of the English content isn’t easily understandable for many people. Efforts in translating any Zcash content should be funded and that can be done very cheaply since automation with AI translators can do 90% of the work.

2. Fund Regional Hubs. Instead of individuals running small meetups with limited reach, I propose funding regional hubs with broader mandates.
   For instance, we could have a German-language hub serving Germany, Austria, Switzerland, … that would be a center of excellent to promote Zcash via production of German-language compliance guides, … for MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation). They should actively lobby local exchanges explaining how Viewing Keys satisfy BaFin requirements.
   A French hub (serving France, Benelux and Switzerland): with the booming dev scene in France, we could sponsor Zcash hackathons and translate all the technical documentation for existing Zcash SDKs/Software/Nodes in French (and other languages).
   A UK hub: Host “Privacy for Enterprise” roundtables in London, targeting fintechs that need ZSAs (Shielded Assets) for payroll or supply chain privacy.
   From these regional hubs, we can imagine more meetups starting to form and more enthusiasm for Zcash spawning all over the place. At least they would offer points of rendez-vous for people to get all the info and knowledge they need in their language.

3. Strategic Event Sponsorship (High Impact Only): I would vote to fund a heavy Zcash presence at these three specific events:
   Paris Blockchain Week (France, April 2026): The center of EU crypto policy.
   BTC Prague (Czechia, June 2026): The largest Bitcoin-adjacent event in Europe. Zcash fits perfectly here as “Bitcoin with Privacy.”
   Crypto Valley Conference (Switzerland, June 2026): Where the banking/institutional money meets crypto.
   These grants would require that the booth is staffed by highly knowledgeable people capable of demoing Zashi (the wallet) and explaining ZSAs to developers.

CRUCIALLY, I would emphasize within the ZCG that we keep track of the CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) and other marketing metrics to ensure these initiatives have the highest possible ROI otherwise funding shouldn’t flow.

Enabling these efforts with the ZCG could spur a much greater long-term adoption in Europe.

Feel free to DM me if you’d like to have a call about some other topics on the ZCG. Thank you.

[gordonesTV]

Tnhanks a lost for your response!

Very interesting ypur point of view! I like it!