# Grant Application - ZECsy Community Building: 12 Months of Zcash on the Ground **URL:** \ **Category:** Community Grants\ **Created:** [August 3, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zecsy-community-building-12-months-of-zcash-on-the-ground/56890 "2026-08-03T16:00:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![readymouse](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/readymouse/32/39041_2.png) [@readymouse](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/readymouse)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 6:06am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zecsy-community-building-12-months-of-zcash-on-the-ground/56890/21 "2026-09-01T06:06:33Z")
Many thanks to ZCG for believing in me, and valuing our work. 💚 ---
**Author:** ![readymouse](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/readymouse/32/39041_2.png) [@readymouse](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/readymouse)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 3:12pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zecsy-community-building-12-months-of-zcash-on-the-ground/56890/22 "2026-09-30T15:12:51Z")
# **ZECsy Monthly Report: September 2026** **Reporting period:** Sep 1 to Sep 30, 2026 **Milestone:** Milestone 1 of 9 **Grant:** ZECsy Annual IRL Program, approved through nine-month milestones ![Screenshot 2026-09-30 at 10.50.03](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/a/c/aca0d7e7006244327b000ee9517ca72a1f29eeec.jpeg) ## **1. Summary** Zcash use among sex workers and small businesses is growing on its own. We are tracking twenty providers now publicly list ZEC as a way to pay them, and two small businesses, graphic artist Angelica and Working Girls Press, began accepting ZEC; Working Girls Press ran live sales through CipherPay at our Amsterdam booth. Requests for workshops are now coming to us unprompted. A Chicago organizer who found Violet’s guides is recruiting students and a venue for an October 14 workshop, a Boston collective is offering its vetted mailing list for a November session, and workers in Ottawa have asked about workshops in their city. Our separately funded Cypherpunk Week trip to Amsterdam drew about 200 check-ins, trained apprentice Molly Simmons, and brought in the Prostitution Information Center and CryptoCanal as partners for a planned February 2027 workshop. We completed Milestone 1 and spent $30,883 of the $45,833 startup payment on team compensation and advance bookings for Exxxotica NJ, Devcon8 Mumbai, and Exxxotica Miami, and every annual deliverable is on pace. ## **2. Milestone status** ![Screenshot 2026-09-30 at 10.49.37](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/d/3/d356853302ddd7dcd84d047706818e6193d8cbe6.jpeg) **Milestone declaration:** This document serves as the report for completion of Milestone 1. ## **3. Deliverables tracker** ![Screenshot 2026-09-30 at 10.51.19](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/f/5/f5f436df7ff91bea4f73df5b65d11e0653b57b5c.jpeg) **Pace note:** Startup funding used to plan for October and future events. Everything is on pace for completion. ## **4. Cumulative evidence of Zcash use** ### **4.1 Zcash in the wild** - Violet @fabacab maintains a list of sex workers who now publicly list that they accept ZEC (or other cryptocurrencies via Swaps in ZODL). This shows the real impact of the workshops, outreach and people using ZEC in the wild. Note: We only include workers who publicly report accepting ZEC, to respect people’s privacy and disclosure decisions. Currently 20 providers are listed. - Violet also maintains a BlueSky Starterpack for Zcash related accounts, who want to follow the currency. This is recommended to workers who are now interested in zcash, and want to follow updates on social media. - Mylo hired Angelica ([@bugknife.bsky.social on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/bugknife.bsky.social)) who now accepted Zcash for graphic art and design contracts. She designed the poster for Amsterdam as well as the program insert for Exxxotica NJ. - - We are working with Justine, owner of Apex Latex ([https://www.apexlatex.com](https://www.apexlatex.com/)), who will be vending at the zcash booth at Exxxotica NJ as a demonstration of CipherPay’s point of sales system. We plan to work in the next month to try and integrate CipherPay directly into the site. Justine joined us in Berlin Blockchain week and is returning as a veteran for Exxxotica NJ. ### **4.2 Second-generation onboarding** For each workshop, we establish a Signal chat for that cohort. We intend to send out polls to the Signal chats 1-month after the workshop to ask about how many others they have onboarded as well as number of transactions they have completed to gauge ongoing usage. We will report results as we have them. ### **4.3 Community signals** - Violet was invited by E.M. to give a workshop in Chicago. See Section 5.2 for discussions on the event. E.M. personally reached out to Violet after reading her guides, and has done most of the legwork to find a venue and recruit interested students. - A worker in Ottawa, CN saw the post about the Chicago workshop and reached out to see how a workshop could be set up or brought to Canada to support workers in her area. ### **4.4 In their own words** - Commendation for Violet’s resources and guides on Bluesky. [@zahrakamasi.bsky.social on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/zahrakamasi.bsky.social/post/3muzwkqixqc2c) ![Screenshot 2026-09-23 at 11.03.54](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/5/e/5e413141ec14051b7ac28fd8916a50cf03afab67.png) - An appreciative text message that Violet received when learning we were returning to Exxxotica NJ, after Exxxotica Chicago that we staffed a zcash booth for in April 2026. We gave out clear plastic kits with various hygiene and harm reduction supplies. ![signal-2026-09-28-21-36-12-917](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/c/3/c37d5a67ca6bebe9ee8148a95a3c0f3597399181.jpeg) - Highlights from Molly’s experience being an apprentice with us during Common S3nse in Amsterdam. See her full comments in our post-trip report for the event, and excerpt here: ## **5. Activations and workshops** ### **5.1 Completed Events** ### **Cypherpunk Week in Amsterdam, September 2 -4** **Type:** Side event + Booth **Crew:** Violet Parr, Mylo Bennett, Kate Stapleton, Molly Simmons **Apprentice trained:** Molly Simmons **Format:** Common S3nse conference plus 2 walking tour side events, and post-tour drinks **What happened:** This is not apart of this grant, as it was approved on the side but during the month of September we staffed a booth at Common S3nse and hosted side events. **Outcomes:** - ZECsy’s Amsterdam trip (Cypherpunk Week, Sept 1–5) delivered strong on-the-ground results: the team hosted a booth plus four side events (two walking tours and two afterparties) alongside Common S3nse and DashCon, reaching roughly 200 Luma checkins, 90% booth foot traffic, and 33 new contacts. - Concrete onboarding wins included a tour guide, six tour attendees, a hackathon builder who shipped a Zcash-based poker app, and a graphic artist and small business (Working Girls Press) both adopting @Kenbak’s CipherPay for payments. - Beyond onboarding, the trip built real relationship capital: new ties with Dash, Zano, Web3Privacy Now, OtterSec, and, notably, the Prostitution Information Center and CryptoCanal founder Eleonore, both eager to host a future sex-worker-focused privacy workshop, which the team flagged as needing a “scouting trip first, workshop second” model going forward. - The event closed essentially on budget (about $800 over a $30k budget) and surfaced clear next steps: revise info cards since Payy Network is shutting down, source SWAG locally to avoid shipping delays, and build a one-page Zcash fact sheet and an apprentice onboarding guide for future trips. **Documentation:** The full post-trip report can be found at: - [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c1BJadg48qq-mobYyTUR7TVkQLfJhkmO/view?usp=drive\_link](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c1BJadg48qq-mobYyTUR7TVkQLfJhkmO/view?usp=drive_link) - [Grant Application - ZECsy Team Marketing at Cypherpunk Week in Amsterdam](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zecsy-team-marketing-at-cypherpunk-week-in-amsterdam/56509) - Cool recap video: [Kate S on X: "Amsterdam vlog is live đŸ‡łđŸ‡± Recapping the recent Cypherpunk Week with the ZECsy team which included: đŸŒ· @CryptoCanal Common S3nse Conference & Hackathon đŸ”· @Dashpay DashCon đŸ’« @Zcash Walking Tours of the city And more! Thanks to everyone who came through- see you in India for @EFD
 / X](https://x.com/kate_stapes/status/2099817906687148150?s=20) ### **5.2 Updates to In-Progress Events** ### **Boston Workshop, date TBD** **Type:** Workshop **Crew:** Violet (instructor) **Apprentice trained:** TBD **Format:** Private workshop for vetted students **What happened:** Violet and I met with C. from Boston Sex Worker’s and Allies Collective ([https://bswac.org/](https://bswac.org/)). C is very interested in partnering with us to host a workshop in the Boston area. BSWAC already has a mailing list of vetted workers in the area, that they will leverage to help us fill the room. They also have connections to safe venues. **Outcomes:** We are targeting a mid-November event, and will update as we know more. **Documentation:** TBD -- ### **Chicago Workshop, October 14, 2026** **Type:** Workshop **Crew:** Violet (instructor) **Apprentice trained:** NA **Format:** Private workshop for vetted students **What happened:** Violet received an inquiry via her website after a sex worker E. M. read her resources guides on her personal website. E. M. is associated with a group in Chicago, and asked Violet if she was willing to run a workshop. E.M. already is willing and able to find students and a venue. _This is exciting because they reached out to Violet directly, demonstrating real signal that these workshops are desired._ **Outcomes:** Event planed for October 14, 2026. **Documentation:** - Luma link: [Chicagoland ZECsy Workshop: Cryptocurrency for Providers · Luma](https://luma.com/oz8qb4n8) -- ### **Exxxotica Edison NJ, Oct 22-25** **Type:** Conference Booth **Crew:** Mylo Bennett, Violet Parr, Kate Stapleton, and Justine (from Berlin Blockchain Week) **Apprentices:** Eve, Avery **Format:** Staffed booth at the main event **What happened:** The ZECsy team is preparing for the event. - Paid for a premium booth which includes ad placement o n the website, and an insert into the program. ($2,900) [Zcash at EXXXOTICA](https://www.exxxoticaexpo.com/exhibitors/zcash/) - The program insert was designed by Angelica, a ZEC-accepting graphic artist. See the two women in the kitchen. ![Screenshot 2026-09-30 at 10.53.56](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/1/2/1279fa8eb3d0a9795840a3030b9d66a40e95ec11.jpeg) - We booked ground transportation, and hotels logistics for all 6 team members. - Justine, who worked with us for Berlin Blockchain Week, will be joining as a vendor-in-residence at our booth. Justine will get set up with CipherPay.app, accepting ZEC for her items at our booth. During Cypherpunk Week in Amsterdam, we hosted Working Girl’s Press, and found that having a ZEC-accepting vendor at our booth was a great demonstration of the technology. People need to see what’s possible, and this is a great example of a Point of Sales system. - Kate Stapleton @kate.stapes is a veteran zcash advocate from Cypherpunk Week in Amsterdam, and will support Exxxotica with her expertise in business development and onboarding everyday users. - Mylo is working on SWAG giveaways. For Chicago we gave away 600 pouches that contained an info card about zcash, some condoms, wet wipes, and other emergency helpful supplies. We received great feedback on the kits, that they were valuable and also memorable. We are planning on 1000 kits, as we expect a larger crowd. - We will try to host a sex worker focused workshop alongside the main event, but will not count this towards the weekend workshops funded separately by ZCG. This will be a bonus workshop. This workshop will be an experience if we get high attendance because the conference draws a crowd, or we get low attendance if the conference distracts people who would otherwise attend. **Outcomes:** TBD **Documentation:** - Luma event: [ZECsy at Exxxotica Edison, NJ · Luma](https://luma.com/9chbt6uz) - [Zcash at EXXXOTICA](https://www.exxxoticaexpo.com/exhibitors/zcash/) -- ### **Mumbai Devcon8, Nov 2- 6** **Type:** Conference Attendance + Side Event **Crew:** Mylo Bennett, Violet Parr, Kate Stapleton **Apprentices:** Evi Nova - Mylo and Violet first met Evi during Buenos Aires devconnect, then saw her again at Berlin Blockchain Week. Mylo invited her to India because her technical background in smart contract development. **Format:** Networking at main event, and university-focused side event **What happened:** The ZECsy team is preparing for the event. - Mylo finalized the team capable of traveling. Arranged hotel and flights, plus have applied for travel VISAs to India. - Side Event: - Our goal for attending is to build relationships with other privacy-focused projects and organizations in the space. These connections will aide in getting us speaking slots at future conferences, collaborations for events, as well as our awareness of tools in the space. **Outcomes:** TBD **Documentation:** - Luma Links for attending main events: [ZECsy at ETH Cypherpunk Congress #3 · Luma](https://luma.com/ze1j2zv0), [ZECsy at Devcon 8 · Luma](https://luma.com/iaoyiiv7) - Our luma links for university side event: TBD ### **–** ### **Exxxotica Miami FL, Dec 4 -6** **Type:** Conference Booth **Crew:** Mylo Bennett, Violet Parr, Kate Stapleton **Apprentices:** A. O., TBD #1 and TBD #2 **Format:** Staffed booth at the main event **What happened:** The ZECsy team is preparing for the event. - Paid for a premium booth which includes ad placement on the website, and an insert into the program. ($2,900) [Zcash at EXXXOTICA](https://www.exxxoticaexpo.com/exhibitors/zcash/) - We booked hotel to ensure we had space in the host hotel, as they book early. - A. O. was selected as both an adult industry professional but with experience in cybersecurity. We believe his combination of technical expertise and industry knowledge expertise will enhance the experience of those visiting our booth. **Outcomes:** TBD **Documentation:** - Luma event: [ZECsy at Exxxotica Miami · Luma](https://luma.com/gwzor0y9) -- ### **5.3 Other In-Progress Event Planning** - Montreal Workshop: We got interest in collaborating with local workers, and will pursue a phone call to organize timing, venue, etc. - Amsterdam Workshop: We are looking at returning to Amsterdam around late February 2027 to align with other sex worker gathering happening at that time. - New Orleans Workshop: We are looking at collaborating with Working Girl’s Press who plans to attend a poetry and small-business printing press gathering in mid-April 2027. This would be an opportunity to interact with small businesses, as well as workers in the area. Working Girl’s Press accepted ZEC during Amsterdam’s Common S3nse conference at our booth as a CipherPay Point of Sales demonstration. - ETHDenver Feb 2027: Mylo and Kate are brainstorming ideas for a larger conference or activation in Denver. They will be networking during Devcon in India for connections and partners who will make a larger event successful. They will work on a specific plan in October, to have concrete asks ahead of Zcon7 in Cancun and Devcon8 in Mumbai. - Kate Stapleton @kate.stapes plans to attend DC Privacy Summit in DC including PGPZ’s Cypherpunk Dinner. She is not using ZECsy grant funds for this trip in mid-October. ## **6. Work outside events and workshops** Zcash Marketing Station: I set up a Zcash marketing section of my basement, as I source materials in bulk. Rather than buying 200-300 condoms every event, I ordered 2k yellow condoms to save money and serve us for at least the next 2-3 events. This will serve as a staging area, as well as inventory tracking for what I have set aside for each event. Currently I am preparing for Exxxotica NJ, Zcon7, and Devcon8 in India. I have the SWAG packs for the booth in NJ, plus leftover yellow/black aprons from Chicago. I will also store durable items such as the yellow kitchen backdrop, sign standers, and business card holders. ![basement_zcash_prep](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/9/4/940c21bd86e1f55de630116b34f17c03fff9f8c9.jpeg) ### **6.1 Field reports routed to the teams who own them** ![Screenshot 2026-09-30 at 10.55.13](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/2/e/2e18790e4f18ae3ff2db3b31356781b31ea2fc7c.jpeg) ### **6.2 Collaboration with other grantees and ecosystem projects** - Mylo joined Elzz @elzz-ux in her Proof of Privacy initiative. On September 2nd Mylo and Elzz hosted an X space to talk about zkSNARKs and other privacy-preserving aspects of Zcash. We had 390 participants on the call which gener ated quite a bit of Twitter buzz. ![Screenshot 2026-09-30 at 01.41.21](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/a/f/afb60d3a139947506bad1d425acc4d79b1d196ca.jpeg) - Mylo and Kate met with Divij Pandya @divijpandya of PGPZ to talk about collaborations between our grant work. ### **6.3 Partnerships, introductions, and connections made** - Mylo and Violet talked with Natalia James of the United Auto Workers union about the need for financial resiliency in at-risk communities. No tangible takeaway at this time, but an interesting connection. - Mylo connected with L. H. working at harm reduction efforts in NYC. She will be a valuable resource for providing harm reduction supplies for Exxxotica booths. We found harm reduction supplies were popular during Chicago, and we aim to provide more of these items as value SWAG attracts people to our booth for conversations. It also also such fun quips as “At zcash, we aim to protect your privacy and your physical layer.” The condoms are for “shielding your liquid transcations”. ### **6.4 Community and governance participation** - Mylo and Violet are planning to attend Zcon7 as invited speakers. - Mylo voted in the ZCAP poll. ### **6.5 Tools, documents, and materials produced** - During Amsterdam Cypherpunk week it was clear that we needed a 1 page summary flier for zcash. In preparation for Exxxotica in Edison, NJ I began the process of creating a 1-page summary for users and a second page for businesses. ### **6.6 Program development** - Now, attending sex worker meetups and support groups is a recruiting apprentices activity, which the team will continue to participate in. ## **7. Budget and spend** **Startup payment:** $45,833 **Spent this month:** $30,883 ![Screenshot 2026-09-30 at 10.56.33](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/5/9/59c4bde2d55924445901dc3eac11866aa3ba942f.jpeg) **Variance and savings:** On budget, aside from major change outlined in section 9. ## **8. Learnings and changes** - **What worked:** The ability to plan months in advance allowed us to make cost savings by buying in bulk and also align with other organizations better. - **What did not:** Molly S. highlighted the need for better materials for apprentices coming to the booth. She was comfortable with the zcash-related technical onboarding, but wanted clearer instructions on how to handle various questions from attendees. - **Change we are making next month:** We have an onboarding document for new apprentices to read before attending a booth about common questions we get and how to respond. ## **9. Major Changes** For Exxxotica Miami, I planned for the Seminar Tier Sponsorship at ~$18k, but unfortunately this option was sold out. My intentions are to use these funds to return to Amsterdam for a follow-up workshop. We made connections with the Prostitution Information Center and CryptoCanal who both pledged their support and excitement for a ZECsy workshop. We are targeting a February return trip. We will keep the committee posted about appropriate allocation of these funds. ## **10. Risks, blockers, and asks** - **Risks:** - **Asks of ZCG or the ecosystem:** ### **Note: All monthly report and post-trip reports can be found at** [ZECsy\_Team\_Reports - Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/188HE73mhQvLuIKn8Xs3Jye1-JnqXsJCZ?usp=sharing) ### ---
**Author:** ![kate.stapes](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/kate.stapes/32/48365_2.png) [@kate.stapes](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/kate.stapes)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 3:28pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zecsy-community-building-12-months-of-zcash-on-the-ground/56890/23 "2026-09-30T15:28:57Z")
Attending Amsterdam was an incredibly refreshing crypto event experience- as someone who’s been attending events in the space since 2013, I met a lot of new faces in privacy, which is rare. We made some really great connections that we will lean into for events moving forwards and just to have in the ZCash network in general. Really looking forwards to the upcoming events and expanding out reach and audience through this ZECsy grant! ---
**Author:** ![readymouse](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/readymouse/32/39041_2.png) [@readymouse](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/readymouse)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 5:25am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zecsy-community-building-12-months-of-zcash-on-the-ground/56890/24 "2026-10-31T05:25:15Z")
# **ZECsy Trip Report: Exxxotica, NJ, Oct 23-25th** **Zcash Grassroots Marketing Team ·** @readymouse **,** @fabacab **,** @kate.stapes Hello friends, I would like to thank @ZCG for their continued support for this grant, and our outreach to the adult entertainment industry. According to Research and Markets, the adult entertainment industry is $78 billion, with the largest independent video creator market, OnlyFans, taking in $6 billion itself from fans. The average OnlyFans subscriber pays between $10 to $50 a month, and nearly 30,000 fans attended Exxxotica NJ. This represents nearly $300,000 to $1.5 million in monthly revenue opportunities that walked past the Zcash booth over the course of the weekend. More than 700 fans, creators, and vendors stopped by our booth and learned about Zcash. - [Adult Entertainment Market Report 2026 - Research and Markets](https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/6005580/adult-entertainment-market-report) - [OnlyFans Millionaires: Site Says 5,076 Creators Have Earned More Than $1 Million to Date](https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/onlyfans-millionaires-creators-earned-more-than-1-million-1236842444/) We chose a kitchen theme for the booth, because the kitchen is where you gather to share ideas, get advice, share a meal, and share stories. We connect in the kitchens of our lives. Here, we give out wet wipes, Tide-stain remover wipes, and other emergency supplies. In each small kit, we included a Zcash information card and a Zcash information flyer. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/5/c/5c7235409d47237d9a2f307b72b71046d6a88e94.jpeg) Our team from left to right: Avery, Violet, Kate, Eve, Mylo, Justine Daily posts on Twitter (@zReadyMouse): **Day 1 [Viral Tweet]:** [https://x.com/zReadyMouse/status/2113735056178962574](https://x.com/zReadyMouse/status/2113735056178962574?a=5kgs4_7EwOgSwXm1fXY&s=20) **Day 2 [Global Pandemic Tweet]:** [Mylo on X: "Day 2: Zcash at @EXXXOTICA . @rollergirlVi and @kate\_stapes in Mama's zcash kitchen. Giving away protections for your body and your money. Privacy is ZECsy." / X](https://x.com/zReadyMouse/status/2114426840941224044) **Day 3:** [Mylo on X: "Day 3 @EXXXOTICA: A non-profit approached us with an all too common problem. They have fiat with a fiscal sponsor, but CashApp banned their account, how can they distribute funds to their members and mutual aid recipients?" / X](https://x.com/zReadyMouse/status/2114681214955053148) ## **Stats** - ~700 individual interactions (tracked via SWAG distribution) - 2 side events attended (afterparties) - 1 main event + booth - 2 advocates and educators trained ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/6/9/6994ae31af23dfb49ccc9484054c4c1f35d86abb.jpeg) ## **Cumulative Impact Summary** ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/1/9/19619d96ec9f3c7adf1f79a80e4cb200301dfc3a.jpeg) **We gave out over 700 plastic pouches with Zcash information cards as well as emergency supplies like wet wipes, Tide-to-go stain remover and make-up remover. Each pouch was given and at least a short conversation was had with the receiver. By tracking pouches distributed, we can track the number of conversations we have over the course of the weekend. See the information flyers we made below, soon they will be posted for other marketing teams to use.** ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/2/1/21adb883359b9893ff78965e76f334ccf2e5fb2a.jpeg) ## **ZECsy Apprentice(s): Eve and Avery** - **What they took on:** Onboarding and talking about Zcash at the booth and on the conference floor. - **What they can now do unsupervised:** Both Eve and Avery are comfortable walking someone through Zodl as well as talking about the features like encrypted memos and transparent vs shielded addresses. They are also able to explain and demonstrate off-ramping via crypto-backed payment card services such as KAST. - **In their words:** \*\* ZECsy Veterans:\*\* Justine returned to support the Zcash booth after supporting us during Berlin Blockchain week in June 2026. She demonstrated the CipherPay point of sales system by selling latex products at our booth. Kate Stapleton also returned to support this event, after supporting Amsterdam Cypherpunk Week in September 2026. ## **Interesting Conversations** - Violet did an interview with Pink Rock Femme at the STDHero booth. She talked about Zcash and the importance of financial sovereignty for the adult entertainment industry. This video got 14k views on X, and more on BlueSky. See the full video at: - - - [https://x.com/rollergirlVi/status/2114583972172755257](https://x.com/rollergirlVi/status/2114583972172755257?a=YMy8oeJaI34xo12RJnY&s=20) - [@violetrollergirl.com on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/violetrollergirl.com/post/3myqz6i6wxk24) - Mylo connected with New Jersey Red Umbrella Alliance to talk about their struggles with de-banking and loosing CashApp. The organization has a traditional fiat bank account, and dispersed funds via sending first to the director’s CashApp and then direct mutual aide to unhoused populations and individuals via CashApp. CashApp has now banned the organization’s account, resulting in a complete lack of ability to distribute funds. They are seeking resources for alternative methods, and were deeply interested in what Zcash has to offer. - A creator who is also a software developer was so immediately blown away by the Zcash team that she went home to start developing a clip site, with direct to consumer sales with ZEC. She aims to have a prototype in the next few weeks, that will take payments and unlock videos for the customers after ZEC payments are confirmed on-chain. ## **People we met before who we saw again:** - People often need 3 touch points to convert. Violet and Mylo met a creator at a party hosted by one of our prior ZECsy apprentices in April 2025. Mylo then talked to this friend about Zcash in particular over Signal in August of 2026, but they weren’t ready to commit. This lovely human attended our booth in Oct 2026, and finally downloaded Zodl. She is now very interested in diving deeper through a workshop or extended conversations. - We also reconnected with many of the creators and vendors we met during Exxxotica Chicago. **Social Media: Zip-Zap** Mylo’s day 1 post showed the flyers on the booth table that included a small black cat, our ZECsy mascot lovingly named Zip-Zap the ZECsy cat. This post gained ~11.3k impressions, almost 10x my average post impressions. Many Twitter users zoomed in on this cat resulting in Zip-Zap going semi-viral. An X community was created including many memes as well as at least 6 tokens on Pump.Fun. - **Pump.fun: [https://pump.fun/coin/9b3hjD85rVH3aJFXG7sNLFtvGHv6DfE9UPbAFzoFpump](https://pump.fun/coin/9b3hjD85rVH3aJFXG7sNLFtvGHv6DfE9UPbAFzoFpump)** - ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/4/d/4d44ccc2d55dca8f5b839e3e20c172b12beb9467.jpeg) - **Fan art: [ADE on X: "Meet Zip-Zap, The Zecsy Cat đŸˆâ€âŹ›đŸ›Ąïž On-chain data is powerful. Privacy should be a choice. Zip-Zap is on patrol keeping the signal quiet while cryptography does its job. Just privacy built for the digital age. @zReadyMouse #Zcash #ZEC #ZIPZAP" / X](https://x.com/poison_ex_/status/2114296243656822984?a=nDzGzItYBLqJR0dRwqw&s=20)** **The X Community:** [$Zip-Zap - The Zecsy Cat Community / X](https://x.com/i/communities/2021095440343760974) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/3/b/3b48edaa676207667f4dac19692ee4258b0e4a7e.jpeg) A token was also launched by an unknown party for both Zip-Zap and ZECsy. We did not create this token! - [https://web3.okx.com/token/solana/H](https://web3.okx.com/token/solana/HPN8W3coY1m6BvAfmYswjYKdtTxuyxs3BbFULQ7Bpump) [PN8W3coY1m6BvAfmYswjYKdtTxuyxs3BbFULQ7Bpump](https://web3.okx.com/token/solana/HPN8W3coY1m6BvAfmYswjYKdtTxuyxs3BbFULQ7Bpump) - [ZECsy (ZECSY) live coin price, charts, markets & liquidity](https://www.livecoinwatch.com/price/ZECsy-_ZECSY) As a result of Zip-Zap’s popularity, my second tweet about Exxxotica went viral. ## **Social Media: Dev Fund Debate** Mylo’s Day 2 post to twitter went pandemic-level viral with over **140k impressions** , nearly 100x more impressions than previous posts. This post received 130 repost/quotes and ignited discussion over the funding practices of the Zcash Community Grants board. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/2/e/2e2745202d4caa834ffc9728ba84d1eb13964bb4.jpeg) Disgustingly, many haters added transphobic and antisemitic comments. Some have even used it as moral grounds to advocate for abolishing the long-standing ecosystem funding streams intended to be used for Zcash adoption. However, many supporters also voiced their support of the work included in this grant. Supporters: - [John MacPherson on X: "Financial privacy extends beyond the use cases you personally approve of. The outrage over @Zcash's presence at @EXXXOTICA seems to miss that. People working in the adult industry have faced banking restrictions, account closures and payment processing barriers for years.
 / X](https://x.com/OrdinallyJohn/status/2114783310421336194?a=gbwC85XuWL9CfVwpRCw&s=20) - [https://x.com/nate\_zec/status/2114973866996998458](https://x.com/nate_zec/status/2114973866996998458?a=86mEkkAI1x49MuPwJEU&s=19) [?a=86mEkkAI1x49MuPwJEU&s=19](https://x.com/nate_zec/status/2114973866996998458?a=86mEkkAI1x49MuPwJEU&s=19) - - [https://x.com/colludingnode/status/2114765974117224565](https://x.com/colludingnode/status/2114765974117224565) and [Joel Valenzuela on X: "The irony of "big bad" criminality-flaunting Monero bros pearl-clutching at marketing to legal sex workers is pretty crazy. 😏 Uncensorable money is for everyone, but first and foremost for those being actively censored. You don't have to like what they're doing, but if yo
 / X](https://x.com/TheDesertLynx/status/2114782741354999824) - - Supporting essay from Vini B - - Support from Pacu (@pacu ) - - Support from Kris Nuttycomb (@nuttycom ) The debate sparked many essays and news coverage, including mention on CoinDesk: - [https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/10/27/zcash-co-founder-proposes-ending-grants-funding-citing-usd125-million-treasury](https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/10/27/zcash-co-founder-proposes-ending-grants-funding-citing-usd125-million-treasury) - [Zcash's $550K Adult-Industry Outreach Sparks Community Backlash Over Privacy | KuCoin](https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/zcash-s-550k-adult-industry-outreach-sparks-community-backlash-over-privacy) ## **Who was in the room** - **Who attends this event:** +30,000 fans, creators and vendors - **Who we reached:** ~700 attendees - **Prior Zcash awareness:** We have a handful of booth visitors reveal they already held ZEC, as well as a 20-30 folks held other cryptocurrencies. Many vendors and creators visited our booth in Chicago, as we build relationships in this community. Several creators stopped by our booth precisely due to prior social media awareness or prior exposure at a previous event: ## **Developer Relations and Bridging Communities** ![Screenshot 2026-10-31 at 00.22.31](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/f/f/ff21316964db038e030ad662e60ae53ebd87e6bf.png) **We did not have any technical issues with Zodl, or NEAR during this event.** We were pleased to report 0 bugs during the conference weekend. \*\* What the room needed that does not exist yet:\*\* I made a flyer for general users and also business who want to accept ZEC. This event showed me that non-profits have specific needs, such as crypto-accepting fiscal sponsors, and reporting requirements. - Mylo plans to create a flyer summary for non-profits to parallel the business flyers. ## **Lessons Learned** - We learned that our flyers fit perfectly in the dental kits, so we will update the SWAG kits to always include this size flyer in the future. - We learned late in the event, that we could leave the emergency kits in the bathrooms so folks can find both Tide stain-remover in the bathrooms along with our info cards and fact sheets. We plan to leave kits in the bathrooms for future events. - We need a non-profit focused fact sheet. Thank you to the Zcash community for your continued support. Onward, to Exxxotica Miami! — @readymouse, @fabacab Note: All reports can be found at [ZECsy\_Team\_Reports - Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/188HE73mhQvLuIKn8Xs3Jye1-JnqXsJCZ?usp=drive_link) ---
**Author:** ![gordonesTV](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/gordonestv/32/45566_2.png) [@gordonesTV](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/gordonesTV)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 12:51pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zecsy-community-building-12-months-of-zcash-on-the-ground/56890/25 "2026-10-31T12:51:18Z")
Greetings, ZECsy team! You are doing a fantastic job—congratulations! I would like to share some impressions I gathered from a few people here in Spain, during a couple of events I recently attended. As you know, I live in Barcelona, ​​where I run [Zcast](https://zcashesp.com/zcast/) and the [Zcash Barcelona Club](https://zcashesp.com/club-zcash-barcelona/). My goal is to promote awareness, usage, and adoption of Zcash in Spain—and, hopefully soon, throughout the rest of Europe. This week, I had the opportunity to attend Merge Madrid and network with many people within the ecosystem. We are successfully gaining recognition—both as “Zcashers” and as a project of significant weight and prominence—but during these interactions, a couple of people remarked: > “What’s this about Zcash now supporting trans people and ‘woke’ culture?” Another person commented: “Zcash has turned into a community made up entirely of trans people—from its creator (Daira) to those LGBTQ+ conferences you’re organizing.” These are the exact words they used; naturally, I know these claims are taken out of context and are completely incorrect. Rather than getting drawn into a fruitless debate, I simply pointed out that cryptocurrencies—from Bitcoin and memecoins to NFTs, Zcash, and beyond—are open to everyone: Black people, Latinos, Christians, Muslims, homosexuals, and heterosexuals alike. To suggest otherwise is the height of hypocrisy and shows that one is not a true “enthusiast” for freedom and privacy. **I also added that what ZECsy is doing is attending conferences and events within the adult entertainment industry—a sector where, incidentally, I haven’t seen any presence from the Bitcoin, Binance Angels, Monero, Dash, or Solana communities. No one else in the crypto ecosystem is doing what ZECsy is doing! You are openly attending these types of events and talking about crypto adoption, privacy, and Zcash.** In the recent past, there have been attempts to bring crypto adoption to the adult industry, but these were always online or merely nominal—not active, in-person, and strategic in the way ZECsy is approaching it. I believe my response to the people I spoke with helped clear up some of their ignorance on the subject. I certainly hope so. **At a time when Zcash is enjoying widespread popularity and visibility—but also facing intense scrutiny on social media, which can lead to misinformation—anything that “creates a stir” can easily be used for manipulation or distortion.** I’m sharing this simply to express my respect for the work you’re doing (which I know is far from easy) and to encourage you to keep doing a great job. If people get “scandalized” by a photo of someone in skimpy clothing using ZODL—well, so be it! And as for those complaining about the size of the grant you were awarded
 well, let them go out and try to achieve even half of what you’ve accomplished. Many of those who criticize likely do so because they wish they could be the ones attending these conferences and events—don’t you think? Apologies for the long message
 **Let’s keep pushing Zcash forward!** ---
**Author:** ![fabacab](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/fabacab/32/38834_2.png) [@fabacab](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/fabacab)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 1:58pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zecsy-community-building-12-months-of-zcash-on-the-ground/56890/26 "2026-10-31T13:58:41Z")
@gordonesTV Your support means a lot. Thank you for your time, support, and trust. 💜 ---
**Author:** ![readymouse](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/readymouse/32/39041_2.png) [@readymouse](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/readymouse)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zecsy-community-building-12-months-of-zcash-on-the-ground/56890/27 "2026-10-31T17:01:44Z")
# **ZECsy Monthly Report: October 2026** **Reporting period:** Oct 1 to Oct 31, 2026 **Milestone:** Milestone2| **Payment this milestone releases:** November 1, 2026 **Report date:** October 31, 2026 | **Prior reports:** [ZECsy\_Team\_Reports - Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/188HE73mhQvLuIKn8Xs3Jye1-JnqXsJCZ?usp=drive_link) **Grant:** ZECsy Annual IRL Program, approved through nine-month milestones ## **1. Summary** In October 2026, ZECsy completed Milestone 2 of its ZCG-funded annual IRL program, and every deliverable is on pace for the year. The month had two activations. The first was a private workshop in Chicago on October 14 for 15 vetted students. A local sex worker found Violet’s online resource guides and asked for the workshop herself, which is strong evidence of organic demand. The second was a staffed booth at Exxxotica NJ (October 23 to 25) with two apprentices, Eve and Avery. Justine of Apex Latex accepted ZEC there through CipherPay’s point-of-sale system, and Violet’s interview at the STDHero booth spread widely on social media. We include signs of growing real-world adoption, including a workshop graduate onboarding her own clients, and Violet onboarding four vendors in CancĂșn, working across a language barrier. Outside events, the team grew its ecosystem ties. Mylo and Kate met with PGPZ to build a legal and regulatory FAQ to hand out at booths, connected with Zodl’s marketing team and sent wallet feedback to Zodl, and explored a Zec.live streaming demo with ZK AV Club. Mylo and Violet both spoke on a Zcon7 panel, Kate attended the DC Privacy Summit on her own dime, and the team made two new flyers, one general and one aimed at developers. Next up are a university-focused side event at Devcon 8 in Mumbai (November 2 to 6) and a booth at Exxxotica Miami (December 4 to 6). A Boston workshop with BSWAC is planned for mid-November to early December, and Montreal, Amsterdam, New Orleans and ETHDenver are in early planning. Spending was $39,583 for the month, which is on budget. The biggest costs were Exxxotica NJ travel, swag and booth ($15,500) and Mumbai prep ($6,000), with the remaining crypto-events money set aside for Devcon. The main lesson was that local coordinators make workshops succeed, and that workshops scheduled next to adult-industry expos don’t draw because the likely attendees are busy at the conference. So the team will reach out to values-aligned organizations in different cities whether or not there’s an event nearby. The one major change is swapping AVN for XBIZ Los Angeles, which has a more business-to-business crowd and has a blockchain category, which also frees the team to attend the Zodl Summit in January. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/5/c/5c7235409d47237d9a2f307b72b71046d6a88e94.jpeg) Team photo from Exxxotica NJ: Left to right: Avery, Violet, Kate, Eve, Mylo and Justine. ## **2. Milestone status** ![Screenshot 2026-10-31 at 11.48.41](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/8/d/8d16c2967fe3a61107924e348fbf8aec92d97eca.jpeg) **Milestone declaration:** This document serves as the report for completion of Milestone 2. ## **3. Deliverables tracker** ![Screenshot 2026-10-31 at 11.49.54](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/7/4/74329d8624a604ae556e545c0dbc788206d434fd.jpeg) **Pace note:** Everything is on pace for completion. ## **4. Cumulative evidence of Zcash use** ### **4.1 Zcash in the wild** - Violet maintains a list of sex workers who now publicly list that they accept ZEC (or other cryptocurrencies via Swaps in ZODL). This shows the real impact of the workshops, outreach and people using ZEC in the wild. Note: We only include workers who publicly report accepting ZEC, to respect people’s privacy and disclosure decisions. Currently contains 21 providers. - Violet also maintains a BlueSky Starterpack for Zcash related accounts, who want to follow the currency. This is recommended to workers who are now interested in zcash, and want to follow updates on social media. - We are working with Justine, owner of Apex Latex ([https://www.apexlatex.com](https://www.apexlatex.com/)), who vended with us at the zcash booth at Exxxotica NJ as a demonstration of CipherPay’s point of sales system. Justine accepted ZEC during the event. We plan to work in the next month to try and integrate CipherPay directly into the site. Justine joined us in Berlin Blockchain week and is returning as a veteran for Exxxotica NJ. - Violet personally onboarded 4 vendors at the CancĂșn resort on the first night across a language barrier by overpaying for a blown glass cup and earings that she wanted to buy. She was able to onboard all four vendors to ZODL and prove to them that the money was available by off-ramping via the KAST card. They called her a “magician.” This was done out of her own pocket (650 USD in ZEC). - 3 touch points theory: 1. 1. A friend, has been witnessing and listening my zcash-related prep activities like putting stickers on hundreds of condoms for a few months now. They knew the general concept of crypto and encrypted money, but didn’t really see a need in their life for it. 2. In July, they talked to Kate Stapleton at a party about the original cypherpunk values and ethos, but wasn’t convinced yet to try. This wasn’t a hands-on demonstration or even a sale pitch, just a regular conversation about what Bitcoin was originally imagined to be, as alternative to the US dollar. 3. First week of October, they overheard me explaining my work with the sex worker community in preparation for Exxxotica NJ and they started to ask me questions about crypto as a Venmo replacement, eventually downloading Zodl to try. ### **4.2 Second-generation onboarding** For each workshop, we establish a Signal chat for that cohort. We intend to send out polls to the Signal chats 1-month after the workshop to ask about how many others they have onboarded as well as number of transactions they have completed to gauge ongoing usage. We will report results as we have them. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/e/7/e7cd5e8067bd2ce876222ff01d1ea779155401f1.png) Here is an example from Twitter of someone who Violet onboarded, now onboarding their clients and customers. Bianca talks about how we took crypto from a scam word, to a tool for financial stability. [[https://x.com/xbiancastonex/status/2114812077948748068\](https://x.com/xbiancastonex/status/2114812077948748068%5C)] ### **4.3 In their own words** Comments from the community about interactions with the team. - Comments from the Twitter: [https://x.com/jeremiahrogers/status/2116078791516672254](https://x.com/jeremiahrogers/status/2116078791516672254?a=pX1L0eF3ZcZIDm4qhPg&s=20) - ## **5. Activations and workshops this month** ### **5.1 Completed Events** ### **Chicago Workshop, October 14, 2026** **Type:** Workshop **Crew:** Violet (instructor) **Apprentice trained:** NA **Format:** Private workshop for vetted students **What happened:** Violet received an inquiry via her website after a sex worker E. M. read her resources guides on her personal website. Elena Marchetti is associated with a group in Chicago, and asked Violet if she was willing to run a workshop. E.M. already is willing and able to find students and a venue. _This is exciting because they reached out to Violet directly, demonstrating real signal that these workshops are desired._ **Outcomes:** Event happened with 15 students. **Documentation:** - Luma link: [Chicagoland ZECsy Workshop: Cryptocurrency for Providers · Luma](https://luma.com/oz8qb4n8) - [@meetelenamarchetti.com on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/meetelenamarchetti.com/post/3mydg3j4b6k2y) - -- ### **Exxxotica Edison NJ, Oct 22-25** **Type:** Conference Booth **Crew:** Mylo Bennett, Violet Parr, Kate Stapleton, and Justine (from Berlin Blockchain Week) **Apprentices:** Eve, Avery **Format:** Staffed booth at the main event **What happened:** The ZECsy team staffed the Exxxotica NJ booth. **Outcomes:** Violet was invited to speak about Zcash by PinkRock Femme at the STDHero booth and delivered a concise pitch about it that has seen a lot of circulation on Twitter: [Vi, that trans girl with the QR code tattoo on X: "The very sweet folks at @PinkRockFemme wanted to know more about what @Zcash can do for adult performers, so I sat down with them at the @StdHero booth during #ExxxoticaNJ to share a little bit about what capabilities shielded $ZEC gives workers in
 / X](https://x.com/rollergirlVi/status/2114583972172755257) **Documentation:** 1. Luma event: [ZECsy at Exxxotica Edison, NJ · Luma](https://luma.com/9chbt6uz) 2. See full report at [Grant Application - ZECsy Community Building: 12 Months of Zcash on the Ground - #24 by readymouse](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zecsy-community-building-12-months-of-zcash-on-the-ground/56890/24) 3. [Zcash at EXXXOTICA](https://www.exxxoticaexpo.com/exhibitors/zcash/) 4. [@pacu.bsky.social on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/pacu.bsky.social/post/3mz2knmw52c2c) 5. [@str4d.xyz on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/str4d.xyz/post/3mz2djrrsy22z) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/2/a/2a2b591535f1fa559401f531506518cad5feab8e.jpeg) ### **5.2 Updates to In-Progress Events** ### **Mumbai Devcon8, Nov 2- 6** **Type:** Conference Attendance + Side Event **Crew:** Mylo Bennett, Violet Parr, Kate Stapleton **Apprentices:** Evi Nova - Mylo and Violet first met Evi during Buenos Aires devconnect, then saw her again at Berlin Blockchain Week. Mylo invited her to India because her technical background in smart contract development. **Format:** Networking at main event, and university-focused side event **What happened:** The ZECsy team is preparing for the event. 1. Mylo finalized the team capable of traveling. Arranged hotel and flights, plus have applied for travel VISAs to India. 2. Side Event: 3. We will plan to attend Webzero events to support with attendance, and offer any small help they may need. 4. Our goal for attending is to build relationships with other privacy-focused projects and organizations in the space. These connections will aide in getting us speaking slots at future conferences, collaborations for events, as well as our awareness of tools in the space. **Outcomes:** TBD **Documentation:** 1. Luma Links for attending main events: [ZECsy at ETH Cypherpunk Congress #3 · Luma](https://luma.com/ze1j2zv0), [ZECsy at Devcon 8 · Luma](https://luma.com/iaoyiiv7) 2. Our luma links for university side event: [Zcash Educational Forum & University Mixer · Luma](https://luma.com/3fid49nj) ### **–** ### **Exxxotica Miami FL, Dec 4 -6** **Type:** Conference Booth **Crew:** Mylo Bennett, Violet Parr, Kate Stapleton **Apprentices:** A. O., X and Thomas **Format:** Staffed booth at the main event **What happened:** The ZECsy team is preparing for the event. 1. Paid for a premium booth which includes ad placement on the website, and an insert into the program. ($2,900) [Zcash at EXXXOTICA](https://www.exxxoticaexpo.com/exhibitors/zcash/) 2. We booked hotel to ensure we had space in the host hotel, as they book early. 3. A. O. was selected as both an adult industry professional but with experience in cybersecurity. We believe his combination of technical expertise and industry knowledge expertise will enhance the experience of those visiting our booth. 4. X was chosen to add diversity of background to our team, as she has many years of experience in the content creator world. She will connect well with other creators in the industry. **Outcomes:** TBD **Documentation:** - Luma event: [ZECsy at Exxxotica Miami · Luma](https://luma.com/gwzor0y9) -- ### **Boston Workshop, date TBD** **Type:** Workshop **Crew:** Violet (instructor) **Apprentice trained:** TBD **Format:** Private workshop for vetted students **What happened:** Violet and I met with C. from Boston Sex Worker’s and Allies Collective ([https://bswac.org/](https://bswac.org/)). C is very interested in partnering with us to host a workshop in the Boston area. BSWAC already has a mailing list of vetted workers in the area, that they will leverage to help us fill the room. They also have connections to safe venues. **Outcomes:** We are targeting a mid-November/early-December event, and will update as we know more. **Documentation:** TBD -- ### **5.3 Other In-Progress Event Planning** - Montreal Workshop: We got interest in collaborating with local workers, and will pursue a phone call to organize timing, venue, etc. We hope to align with other Zcash Canada events happening in late 2026, and early 2027. - Amsterdam Workshop: We are looking at returning to Amsterdam around late February 2027 to align with other sex worker gathering happening at that time. - New Orlean Workshop: We are looking at collaborating with Working Girls’s Press who plans to attend a poetry and small-business printing press gathering in mid-April 2027. This would be an opportunity to interact with small businesses, as well as workers in the area. Working Girl’s Press accepted ZEC during Amsterdam’s Common S3nse conference at our booth as a CipherPay Point of Sales demonstration. - ETHDenver Feb 2027: Mylo and Kate are brainstorming ideas for a larger conference or activation in Denver. They will be networking during Devcon in India for connections and partners who will make a larger event successful. ETHDenver still has not announced dates, so no firm plans have been made yet. ## **6. Work outside events and workshops** ### **6.1 Field reports routed to the teams who own them** ![Screenshot 2026-10-31 at 11.53.02](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/c/1/c13db01a4f5c100590ba03260d361983d8c1d73e.png) ### **6.2 Collaboration with other grantees and ecosystem projects** - Mylo and Kate met with @divijpandya Divij Pandya of PGPZ to talk about collaborations between our grant work. - During Zcon7: ### **6.3 Partnerships, introductions, and connections made** - Mylo and Violet, connected with S. S. of New Moon Network, [https://www.newmoonnetwork.org/](https://www.newmoonnetwork.org/). This was a key connection, because this will afford us friendly introductions to many other values-aligned organizations. Kate Stapleton (@kate.stapes) attended the DC Privacy Summit (not funded by this grant, but Kate is a part of the grant team). Her words: - I attended the DC Privacy Summit outside of ZECsy funding as I felt it was important to meet some of the core ZCG, PGPZ and ZODL team in person, and the mission to educate and lobby the government at such a critical inflection point in history resonated strongly with me. I was able to attend the Cypherpunk Policy Dinner and mixer, hosted by [PGPZ](https://pgpz.org/) , @divijpandya and @paulbrigner . I put together a full [recap tweet of the evening’s keynotes, panels and discussions.](https://x.com/kate_stapes/status/2110720855974064603) - The following day I attended the DC Privacy Summit where I was able to meet with crypto native projects like [ZK Passport](https://zkpassport.id/) as well as academics, cybersecurity specialists, politicians, lawyers and more. The discussions felt as if they carried more weight as the primaries were upcoming and the focus was largely centered around working with policymakers to protect open source code and keep privacy technology sovereign. - A talk I found particularly insightful was by Erik Voorhees and his open AI model Venice where he declared “Knowledge is never a crime, and the pursuit of knowledge must remain free and open”. [Here’s the full recap tweet.](https://x.com/kate_stapes/status/2110841194364490076) - Overall it was a fantastic opportunity to gain a more complete understanding of the work ongoing in the Zcash ecosystem, outside of workshops and conferences and to meet folks who have been in the fight against surveillance and censorship for decades. It was wonderful to meet fellow Zcashers in person and an honor to meet one of my personal heroes Cindy Cohn. I gained perspective and insight that can only be gained in person and helps temper my work with ZECsy moving forwards. ![Screenshot 2026-10-31 at 11.53.28](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/f/1/f1086ce6cef38f6aa90056b201a4deb00c627d3b.jpeg) 6.4 Community and governance participation - Mylo attended the Arborist bi-weekly calls on Zoom. - Mylo and Violet attended Zcon7. Both Mylo and Violet were speakers on a panel, and Mylo was a small group facilitator. ![Screenshot 2026-10-31 at 11.56.06](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/f/a/fa36b0ad0d1506f1b00c7ce368105e893c4c4423.jpeg) ### **6.5 Tools, documents, and materials produced** - We created a general informational flyer: - We created a developer-focused flyer: ![Screenshot 2026-10-31 at 11.56.44](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/4/9/493cc9c304a4a6406f0b5a035f8701b97331014d.jpeg) We will post the flyers on [Zecsy.com](http://Zecsy.com) for other marketing group to use. ### **6.6 Program development** - Now, attending sex worker meetups and support groups is a recruiting apprentices activity, which the team will continue to participate in. ## **7. Budget and spend** **Milestone 1:** $45,833 **Spent this month:** $39,583 ![Screenshot 2026-10-31 at 11.58.29](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/original/3X/7/c/7c340e83cbdd7442d6d864c3604727cf1f7beb97.jpeg) **Variance and savings:** On budget, the large remaining allocations for crypto events will support devcon Mumbai in November. ## **8. Learnings and changes** - **What worked:** Chicago worked really well thanks to an engaged boots-on-the-ground coordinator. - **What did not:** We were not able to host a workshop next to Exxxotica NJ, because most potential attendees of a workshop were attending the conference. Side events are rare during a Exxxotica event, where they are more common during crypto and tech conferences. - **Change we are making next month:** We plan to reach out to many values-aligned organizations in various cities to look for engaged partners, even where they don’t align with an existing event. ## **9. Major Changes** We are going to switch from AVN since it is an award and expo show to X-Bis Los Angeles [[https://www.xbizshow.com/\](https://www.xbizshow.com/%5C)]. X-Bis draws more of a business to business crowd, and has a specific category for Blockchain technologies. This change will enable the team to attend the Zodl Summit in January while still fulfilling the requirements of the grant. ## **10. Risks, blockers, and asks** - **Risks:** Health and safety of the team. Availability of tickets and booth space at X-Bis. - **Asks of ZCG or the ecosystem:** Introductions to values-aligned, social good organizations willing collaborate on financial privacy education. ## **All monthly and trip report can be found at** [ZECsy\_Team\_Reports - Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/188HE73mhQvLuIKn8Xs3Jye1-JnqXsJCZ?usp=drive_link) ---
**Author:** ![fabacab](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/fabacab/32/38834_2.png) [@fabacab](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/fabacab)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2026, 10:04am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zecsy-community-building-12-months-of-zcash-on-the-ground/56890/28 "2026-11-01T10:04:19Z")
The hullabaloo around our grant has delivered another win: [Zcash for adult creators: what private payments hide](https://slypanorama.com/blog/zcash-adult-creators-private-payments) Our original ask that would fund our efforts for an entire year was approximately three days worth of the ZCG funding stream. Three days of funds for an entire year of outreach. And we deliver all this. But, “oh no, tranny sex workers, it’ll look bad!” I can’t wait for that crew to grow a spine. ---
**Author:** ![Iogy](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/iogy/32/21500_2.png) [@Iogy](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/Iogy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zecsy-community-building-12-months-of-zcash-on-the-ground/56890/29 "2026-11-02T16:56:11Z")
Hey @readymouse, @fabacab and @ryan.taylor, Thanks for the report, and for the mention. Violet, it was great to meet you at Zcon7, and Ryan, good to be in the same room again. We’re already talking on Signal, so this is mostly so the rest of the thread can follow along. Quick recap of what zec.live does, for anyone reading: a viewer scans a QR code and sends a shielded ZEC tip with a message. The alert pops up on the stream, the memo is read out loud, and the money lands straight in the streamer’s wallet. No middleman, and the tipper doesn’t create an account. We built it for game streamers, but the overlay is a web page, so a laptop and a screen are enough for a show, a panel or a booth. For the Exxxotica Miami booth, here’s what I’d suggest: a laptop and a screen at the booth, with the QR on it. People send a small shielded tip with a message, it shows up on the screen and gets read out loud. Two things help keep a public screen under control: the word filter (block up to 100 words and replace each one with a word you pick) and “Only notify” mode, where each tip waits in a queue until someone on your team approves it. Tips go to a wallet the booth controls. If you’re up for it, we can set it up together on a call before December and test it end to end. The step-by-step is here: [Grant Application — Zcash World, Mumbai (Devcon 8 week) - #17 by Iogy](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zcash-world-mumbai-devcon-8-week/57253/17) and there’s a short setup video: [https://youtu.be/NZpk1Wi5z2Q](https://youtu.be/NZpk1Wi5z2Q) Ryan, same offer for the ZK AV Club streams: the overlay is a Browser Source in OBS, so it drops into the scenes you already have. Happy to run a short “OBS + LiveZEC” session with your crew whenever it fits. If Miami is the one you want working, say so on Signal. One test tip, and you watch it land on the booth screen before you pack. [Previous page](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zecsy-community-building-12-months-of-zcash-on-the-ground/56890.md?page=1)