Hi Zcash community,
My name is Steven Gao. I am a builder and long-time crypto participant from Asia.
Over time, my interest in Zcash has become something deeper: a genuine commitment to its mission. I believe Zcash carries one of the most important ideas in crypto: digital money should protect personal freedom, not expose every part of a person’s financial life.
This is why I want to contribute more seriously to the Zcash community.
To me, Zcash is not just another crypto asset. It is one of the few projects still working on something that feels essential: private, useful, decentralized digital cash. In a world where financial activity is increasingly tracked, analyzed, and controlled, I believe the need for Zcash will only become more important.
I am running for ZCG because I want to help Zcash reach more people, especially builders and users who may care deeply about privacy but have not yet found their way into the ecosystem.
One area I care about very much is helping Zcash grow in China and the broader Asian market. There are many people in this region who understand the value of self-custody, financial privacy, and open crypto networks. But Zcash is still not well understood by many of them. Some people know the name, but not the mission. Some know the technology, but not how to use it. Some are interested, but do not know where to start building.
I want to help close that gap.
If elected, I would like to support grants and community efforts that make Zcash easier to understand, easier to use, and easier to build with. That includes better education, clearer developer onboarding, stronger wallet experiences, practical payment tools, and outreach to non-English communities.
I believe Zcash should not remain a project that only privacy experts admire. It should become private money that normal users, developers, communities, and businesses can actually use.
At the same time, I believe ZCG must be careful and responsible with its larger budget. More funding is a great opportunity, but it also requires more discipline. Grants should have clear goals, realistic milestones, public progress, and honest evaluation after completion. The community treasury should support work that creates lasting value for Zcash, not just short-term attention.
My background is not as a core cryptographer. My perspective is that of a builder, product thinker, and community bridge. I care about whether a project can actually ship, whether users can understand it, whether developers can integrate it, and whether it helps Zcash become more widely used in the real world.
If I have the opportunity to serve on ZCG, I will focus on three things:
• Supporting projects that increase real shielded usage
• Helping more global builders, especially Chinese-speaking and Asian builders, enter the Zcash ecosystem
• Making sure ZCG funding is used with discipline, transparency, and long-term respect for Zcash’s mission
I love Zcash because I believe its mission matters. I want more people to understand that mission, use the technology, and help build the future of private digital cash.
Thank you for considering my candidacy.
Steven Gao