Hi all, I’ve submitted a ZCG grant application and, per the process, I’m posting it here for community review and feedback.
Application: https://github.com/ZcashCommunityGrants/zcashcommunitygrants/issues/371
What it is: an open-source (MIT/Apache-2.0) toolkit that lets any application accept native ZEC as collateral or payment and settle results back to a user-controlled Zcash address — “ZEC in, ZEC out,” non-custodial. It packages four reusable pieces: a native-ZEC settlement rail (via NEAR Intents), a reusable on-chain accounting/vault library, a developer SDK + reference dapp, and a third-party security audit of the open-source contracts.
Why it’s a public good: ZEC has strong holder conviction but little native on-chain utility — today, putting ZEC to work usually means wrapping it, handing it to a custodian, or bridging away from Zcash. This toolkit gives builders a clean, audited, non-custodial “ZEC-in / ZEC-out” primitive so any Zcash app can offer real native-ZEC utility while keeping value inside the ecosystem. It’s reusable by anyone, not exclusive to one app.
Privacy posture (honest): shielded in, shielded out — deposits and withdrawals use shielded Zcash addresses, and payouts are enforced shielded-only. While value is in use as on-chain collateral the accounting is transparent; full cryptographic privacy of amounts/routing is honestly-labeled future research, not something I’ll claim I’ve already built.
Ask: $72,000 across three milestones — (1) the open-source vault/accounting library, (2) the native-ZEC settlement rail + SDK + reference dapp, (3) a third-party security audit. Full budget and milestones are in the application.
Disclosure: I’m separately building Zebra, a commercial ZEC perpetuals venue, on top of this rail. This grant funds only the neutral, non-custodial, open-source toolkit — the commercial venue is out of scope and self-funded. The funded artifact is a payment/collateral primitive, like a wallet SDK.
I’ve been around the Zcash community for almost a decade and would really value your feedback and scrutiny. Happy to answer any questions here.
Thanks,
float