ECC endorsements & its ZIP withdrawn

[GGuy]

Hi @josh,

@joshs

Hybrid Deferred Development Fund ZIP specifies that ECC and ZF are ineligible for grants. As neither would receive direct funding, we aren’t sure why this restriction would be in place. A grant option could be useful if ECC or ZF has an unanticipated need or opportunity the community wishes to fund.

After careful consideration I don’t believe the ECC and ZF restriction has to be encoded in the ZIP. I can, as a ZCG member, make a statement and do some expectation setting that I am unlikely to consider approving an ECC and ZF grant proposal before the lockbox has been resolved but would evaluate any proposals on a case-by-case basis. It’s my belief that other ZCG members may also take the outstanding lockbox funds into account when making their decisions.

I will begin the process of collaborating on the Hybrid Deferred Development Fund to ensure the Zcash community has the strongest path forward towards grant based distribution of funds into the future with the intention of withdrawing my proposal. I will keep everyone updated. (cc @aquietinvestor)

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Important: Deadline for ZIPs (likely Dev Fund related) that want to be activated next halvening

My desire and intent is to incentivise constant progress and innovation towards a grants based funding model now and into the future. In light of the similarities between the Zcash Grants Fund proposal and the Hybrid Deferred Dev Fund I have decided to work in collaboration with @peacemonger @skyl and @aquietinvestor on the Hybrid Deferred Dev Fund. I have subsequently closed my PRs for the Zcash Grants Fund. Thanks to the ZIP editors for their commitment to the process. It’s inspiring .…

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I believe my proposal closely aligns with the Hybrid Deferred Development Fund, with the primary difference being a larger allocation to ZCG. This adjustment primarily aims to lift the funding restrictions on ECC and ZF. Removing these restrictions, while still providing ZCG with less than $1 million USD per year, and considering the overhead and administrative costs of becoming independent under FPF, would place an impossible strain on the ZCG budget. A $500k grant request from ECC or ZF, coupled with the new overhead costs of becoming independent, would almost completely consume the ZCG issuance for 2025 (at current prices).

Therefore, we face a choice:
* Increase the issuance to ZCG within the Hybrid Deferred Development Fund: This would ensure sufficient funds to remove the restrictions on ZF and ECC.
* Maintain the ZF and ECC restrictions: Considering it’s likely that lockbox funds would eventually flow to ECC and/or ZF through some grants based model in the future this seems like a reasonable compromise.

If we can agree on a middle ground, I would consider withdrawing my ZIP in support of the Hybrid Deferred Dev Fund ZIP. This approach could help simplify the NU6 upgrade path and focus on what I believe is in the best interest of the community.

@joshs Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.