# Grant Application - Revocable Private Delegation in Token Holder Voting

**URL:** <https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-revocable-private-delegation-in-token-holder-voting/55485>\
**Category:** Applications\
**Created:** [April 24, 2026, 10:49am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-revocable-private-delegation-in-token-holder-voting/55485 "2026-04-24T10:49:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![deanstef](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/deanstef/32/44490_2.png) [@deanstef](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/deanstef)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 10:49am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-revocable-private-delegation-in-token-holder-voting/55485/1 "2026-04-24T10:49:58Z")

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Hi Zcash Community,

We are excited to announce a new grant proposal from @AikStouka and me on **Private Revocable Delegation for Token Holder Voting**.

## **The Problem**

Motivated by ongoing discussions and proposals on incorporating **Token Holder Voting** in Zcash governance, we identify a key limitation in the current design space.

Existing private delegation protocols typically achieve only a subset of three desirable properties: preserving _(i) the privacy of the delegator_, _(ii) the privacy of the delegate_, and _(iii) supporting revocation_ during an active delegation period. To the best of our knowledge, no existing solution achieves all three simultaneously.

In practice, these properties are all important:

- **Delegation must remain flexible.** New information often emerges between delegation and voting; delegates may change behavior, become controversial, or better candidates may appear. Without revocation, users are locked into decisions that may no longer reflect their preferences.

- **Revocation helps mitigate coercion.** If delegation can be privately revoked, an attacker cannot reliably “purchase” voting power in advance. This weakens incentives for bribery, since control over votes cannot be guaranteed during the delegation period.

- **Privacy protects participants and the system.** Concealing who delegates, revokes, and receives delegation prevents social pressure and signaling effects (e.g., appearing “active” or “consistent”), and makes it significantly harder to identify and target high-influence delegates.

## **Our proposal**

We propose an e-voting protocol for **private, revocable delegation** that allows token holders to delegate their voting power privately and revoke that delegation during the delegation period.

The protocol is compatible with existing Zcash-style voting systems in which eligible voters use secret credentials linked to Merkle tree commitments, including the voting subprotocol developed in the previous grant ([Coin Voting 2.0](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/coin-voting-2-0/49177)) and the Token Holder Voting protocol by Nazirkhanova et al., proposed [here](https://arxiv.org/search/cs?searchtype=author&query=Nazirkhanova,+K).

## **Project Outcome and budget**

Two deliverables that will be publicly released under the MIT license.

1. A technical design spec for the proposed solution.

2. A proof of concept, including a client application and a coordination server for delegation, revocation, and vote registration.

**Total budget:** $140,900

* * *

**Full Proposal** – You can find our proposal [here](https://github.com/ZcashCommunityGrants/zcashcommunitygrants/issues/282).

We would love to hear your feedback.

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**Author:** ![ZCG](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/zcg/32/33712_2.png) [@ZCG](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/ZCG)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 1:22pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-revocable-private-delegation-in-token-holder-voting/55485/2 "2026-05-01T13:22:30Z")

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Thank you for submitting your proposal. After careful consideration by the ZCG and a period for community comments on the forum, the committee has decided not to advance this proposal. Details will be included in the next meeting minutes.

We genuinely appreciate the work and dedication you put into your application and hope you’ll continue to participate and contribute to the Zcash community.