Bitcointalk Signature Campaign & ZEC Community Engagement — 3 Months
Requested amount: $90,000 USD ($30,000 per month for three months)
Duration: 3 months
Category: Community & Outreach
Applicant: tokensfund — project lead Murat (Bitcointalk profile)
GitHub application: Grant Application - Bitcointalk Signature Campaign & ZEC Community Engagement — 3 Months · Issue #441 · ZcashCommunityGrants/zcashcommunitygrants · GitHub
Executive Summary
A three-month Bitcointalk campaign to put Zcash in front of the forum’s long-tenured, self-custody-focused audience while new attention on ZEC is arriving.
Forty high-rank forum accounts — Bitcointalk staff and moderators, Legendary, Hero and Sr. Member only — will carry an official Zcash signature banner for three months, delivering roughly 14,400 banner-carrying posts. Alongside the campaign, a monthly ZEC price prediction contest gives the community a recurring reason to discuss Zcash, and every participant sets up a shielded Zcash address to enter.
Progress will be reported publicly on this thread each month.
Problem
Bitcointalk has been running since 2009 and remains the largest general-purpose cryptocurrency forum. Its regulars are long-term holders and self-custody users — people who already understand why financial privacy matters. That is Zcash’s natural audience.
Zcash currently has no signature campaign on the forum, while readers there see other projects’ banners under posts every day.
At the same time, new attention is arriving. Grayscale’s spot Zcash ETF listed on 25 August 2026 and was reported to have gathered around $362M in assets within days. Many people looking at ZEC for the first time will go looking for community discussion, and Bitcointalk is one of the places experienced holders already spend their time.
Proposed Solution
1. Signature campaign — 40 slots, 3 months
- 40 slots, high-rank accounts only: Bitcointalk staff and moderators, Legendary, Hero and Sr. Member.
- 30 posts per week per member, spread across boards and across the week. No bursting, no post dumping, and no posting about Zcash to meet a quota — members post normally and the banner travels with them.
- Output: ~1,200 banner-carrying posts per week, ~4,800 per month, ~14,400 across the campaign.
- Standards: low-effort, off-topic or rule-breaking posts are not counted. Members who fall below standard are removed and replaced within 7 days.
- Rates: set at or above current market rates, so the campaign attracts established accounts rather than whoever is available.
2. Banner
Designed in line with the official Zcash brand guidelines and posted to this thread for community feedback before launch. No banner goes live without that review.
3. Monthly ZEC price prediction contest
- One contest per month with a $1,000 prize pool (three contests, $3,000 total).
- Run in a public thread on Bitcointalk and open to everyone.
- Every participant sets up a shielded Zcash address to enter, and prizes are paid to those addresses. Each contest works as hands-on onboarding to Zcash’s core feature — every entry is a new shielded address.
4. Monthly public reporting
A public report is posted at the end of each month: posts delivered, replacements made, and contest entries and winners, with shielded-payment confirmation.
Budget
Total: $90,000 USD — $30,000 per month, paid at the start of each month of the campaign.
The budget covers payments to all 40 signature campaign members, banner and graphic design, the three contest prize pools ($3,000 in total, paid in shielded ZEC), recruitment and rank verification, replacements, campaign management and post monitoring, thread and contest moderation, and the monthly public reports.
Milestones
| Payment | Deliverable | Amount | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Startup funding | Recruitment, banner design and first weeks of member payments | $30,000 | At approval |
| Milestone 1 | Banner approved after community review; 40 members live; first monthly report; first contest paid out to shielded addresses; ≥ 4,560 of 4,800 posts delivered | $30,000 | End of week 4 |
| Milestone 2 | Second monthly report; second contest paid out; ≥ 4,560 of 4,800 posts delivered | $30,000 | End of week 8 |
| Milestone 3 | Final report against every success metric; third contest paid out; ≥ 13,680 of 14,400 total posts delivered | $0 | End of week 12 |
| Total | $90,000 |
Each month is funded at its start, because campaign members are paid weekly.
Success Metrics
- At least 95% of target posts delivered (≥ 13,680 of ~14,400), tracked and published monthly
- All 40 slots active throughout the campaign, with any vacancy filled within 7 days
- Three contests completed, targeting 100+ entries each
- Every contest entrant sets up a shielded Zcash address, and every prize is paid to one, with confirmation posted
- Three monthly public reports published on schedule
These metrics measure delivery, which is what this grant directly controls. The purpose of the campaign is sustained visibility for Zcash in front of an established crypto audience; it makes no claims about ZEC price or adoption outcomes.
Risks & Mitigations
| Risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|
| Difficulty recruiting 40 high-rank members | Rates set at or above current market; members recruited and verified before launch; the campaign does not start until it is full |
| Low-quality or spam posting | Every post checked; posts below standard are not counted; members replaced within 7 days |
| Community concern about paid promotion | Signature campaigns are an established, openly disclosed practice on Bitcointalk. Members are paid to carry the banner, not to post about Zcash. |
| Bitcointalk rule changes | The campaign complies with forum rules; if rules change mid-campaign, scope is adjusted accordingly |
Team
tokensfund
- Murat — Project Lead. Campaign management, banner coordination and community review, ZCG liaison, public reports. Forum profile, history and previous campaigns: View the profile of Murat
- Nowfel Ahmed — Recruitment & Verification. Sources applicants, verifies rank, account history and post quality, manages replacements.
- Samiya Kamal — Post Monitoring & Payments. Weekly review of every member’s posts, tracking sheet, weekly payouts.
- Sabbir — Community & Contest Moderation. Runs the monthly contests, moderates the contest and discussion threads, compiles report data.
Previous Funding
None. This is a first application to Zcash Community Grants.