Zcash 90-Day Global Privacy Campaign via Brave — Dec 2025 through Feb 2026

[BraveCarlos]

Organization Name

Brave Software, Inc.

How did you learn about Zcash Community Grants

Direct ecosystem engagement and previous partnership communications with Zcash contributors.

Requested Grant Amount (USD)

$750,000

Category

Media

Project Lead

Name: Carlos Acevedo

• Role: Senior Director, Business Development

• Background: Leads enterprise partnerships and business development initiatives at Brave, with extensive experience managing multi-million dollar marketing campaigns for blockchain ecosystems.

• Responsibilities: Overall campaign strategy, stakeholder management, budget oversight, and performance reporting to Zcash Community Grants.

Additional Team Members

Name: Luke Mulks

• Role: VP, Business Operations

• Background: Oversees business operations and strategic initiatives at Brave, ensuring operational excellence across enterprise partnerships.

• Responsibilities: Campaign operations, financial management, and cross-functional coordination.

Name: Matt McCabe

• Role: Senior Client Success Manager, Enterprise

• Background: Manages enterprise client relationships and campaign optimization, with proven track record in blockchain marketing campaigns.

• Responsibilities: Day-to-day campaign management, performance optimization, reporting dashboards, and client communication.

Project Summary

Brave will run a three-month global Zcash marketing campaign across New Tab Takeovers and localized notification ads to drive awareness, education, wallet activations, and usage across Brave’s 100M+ privacy-aligned user base. We are requesting $750,000 (single payment) for a Dec 2025 – Feb 2026 flight.

Project Description

Brave will deploy a 90-day global Zcash campaign (Dec 1, 2025 – Feb 28, 2026) using our highest-performing inventory: premium New Tab Takeovers (NTT) and localized notification ads.

Budget structure: 15 NTT days @ $25k/day (~24M impressions/day), plus notification inventory at a $6 CPM (~62.5M impressions) with a 2–4% CTR target. NTT days will be strategically distributed across the 3 months (not clustered). For every NTT day allocated to the Brave Wallet Integration pillar, Brave will match 1:1 with an extra NTT day at no cost.

This will be a fully managed, turnkey campaign with weekly dashboards and a final comprehensive report.

Proposed Problem

Zcash privacy tech remains misunderstood, underexposed, and underactivated globally.

The NEAR Intents + Zcash cross-chain narrative is under-marketed.

Zashi Wallet and Brave Wallet ZEC support both suffer from low awareness and low activation relative to their potential.

Proposed Solution

Use Brave’s privacy-aligned 100M+ user base to directly educate, activate, and drive usage for Zcash across three months using the formats that perform best for blockchain ecosystems: (1) NTT days that create “global moments”, and (2) localized notifications to convert interested users.

Activate four pillars: Zcash Core, NEAR Intents, Zashi Wallet, and Brave Wallet Integration with Brave matching each Brave Wallet Integration NTT day 1:1 with an extra NTT day at no cost.

Solution Format

• 15 NTT days @ $25k/day + extra NTT days at no cost for each Brave Wallet Integration day (1:1 match)
• Notifications at $6 CPM (~62.5M impressions) with 2–4% CTR target
• Localization across top Tier-1 and Tier-2 crypto markets
• Weekly dashboards + final comprehensive report

Dependencies

Zcash brand assets, approved messaging priorities, landing URLs, Zashi store links, NEAR Intents coordination for accuracy, and a ZEC wallet to receive payment.

Technical Approach

Audience targeting via Brave’s privacy-first segments (56% crypto-active), geo/language segmentation, A/B tested creative, mid-flight creative refreshes, attribution via UTMs, weekly optimization reviews, and retargeting of high-intent cohorts.

Upstream Merge Opportunities

None. This is a marketing flight, not a code contribution.

Hardware/Software Costs (USD)

$0

Hardware/Software Justification

No hardware/software required. Campaign uses Brave’s existing infrastructure.

Service Costs (USD)

$750,000

Service Costs Justification

Full cost of global media inventory and fully managed execution: 15 NTT days @ $25k/day (~360M impressions), notification ads at $6 CPM (~62.5M impressions, 2–4% CTR target), creative development, localization, implementation, optimization, weekly dashboards, final report. Brave will match each Brave Wallet Integration NTT day 1:1 with an extra NTT day at no cost.

Compensation Costs (USD)

$0

Compensation Costs Justification

All labor/management/creative/ops included in service cost. No separate team compensation line item.

Total Budget (USD)

$750,000

Previous Funding

Yes

Previous Funding Details

Brave received prior blockchain ecosystem marketing funding (e.g., Polkadot). No overlap with this Zcash flight. All prior commitments were delivered successfully.

Other Funding Sources

No

Other Funding Sources Details

N/A

Implementation Risks

(1) ZEC price volatility (mitigated via single EMA7 pricing on payment day). (2) Creative delays if ecosystem assets are late. (3) Attribution complexity beyond UTMs. (4) Regulatory shifts in crypto ad policy (Brave legal review mitigates).

Potential Side Effects

Possible spike in support questions as new users onboard. Neutral or positive halo effect for “privacy tech” narrative across the wider crypto market.

Success Metrics

Format guarantees: ~360M NTT impressions + ~62.5M notification impressions. CTR: NTT 0.5–1.0%. Notifications: 2–4%. Blended click expectation: ~3.05M–6.1M clicks. Pillar-level UTMs to track Core/NEAR/Zashi/Brave Wallet activation. Weekly dashboards + final report with conversion insights + 2026 recommendations.

Startup Funding (USD)

$0

Startup Funding Justification

N/A. Brave fronts all pre-campaign setup.

Milestone Details

Milestone 1
Amount (USD): 750000
Expected Completion Date: 2026-03-15

User Stories:
• As the Zcash ecosystem, I want global exposure and education, so that adoption and usage increase.
• As a privacy-aligned user, I want clear onboarding into Zcash wallets and cross-chain privacy, so I understand what to do next.

Deliverables:
• 15 NTT days @ $25k/day (~360M impressions)
• Extra NTT days 1:1 for every Brave Wallet Integration day (no cost)
• Notification ads at $6 CPM (~62.5M impressions; 2–4% CTR)
• Weekly dashboards (Dec/Jan/Feb)
• Final comprehensive report with market/language/pillar breakdown + 2026 recs

[artkor]

Community, what do you think of it?

The amount is large, but the reach could be meaningful. Interested to hear your reactions.

[BraveCarlos]

Thank you, @artkor. I am happy to answer any questions from the community or ZCG.

Important clarification: this campaign is designed to benefit the entire Zcash ecosystem, not only ZEC awareness at the asset level. This is why it includes NEAR Intents and Zashi Wallet. If there are additional ecosystem surfaces the community wants included, Brave can incorporate them.

The core goal is simple: bring Zcash privacy to a very large, relevant global audience and convert that reach into meaningful activation.

[BraveCarlos]

Adding my responses to the questions from last week’s minutes:

Brave proposes a three-month global Zcash marketing campaign (Dec 2025–Feb 2026) leveraging its 100M+ privacy-focused user base to drive education, awareness, and wallet activations. The $750,000 campaign will feature 15 premium New Tab Takeover (NTT) days—each delivering ~24 million daily impressions—and localized notification ads generating ~62.5 million impressions with a 2–4% CTR target. Brave will match every NTT day focused on Brave Wallet Integration with an additional NTT day at no cost, doubling exposure for that pillar. The campaign will highlight four key areas: Zcash Core, NEAR Intents, Zashi Wallet, and Brave Wallet Integration. With turnkey management, weekly performance dashboards, and a final impact report, this initiative will significantly boost global visibility, understanding, and user engagement with Zcash’s privacy technology and ecosystem. Applicant is requesting $750,000.

• Jason: Some history on this. There’s a partnership between Brave, Filecoin, and ECC that resulted in the Brave desktop wallet, which historically supported transparent and has supported shielded for less than a year or so. Previously, it was not very user friendly and had some bugs. It sounds like they’ve made some improvements, that they’ve covered the cost for or it came from the existing partnership funds. I support this grant in principle, but since this proposal was just posted, I need to go through and understand what’s in scope. It’s pretty pricey for three months of marketing, so hopefully we can bring down the cost a bit.

  • @Jason

    Thanks for providing that background. We want to be very clear about the purpose of this campaign. The goal is not to advertise Brave Wallet in isolation. The goal is to increase Zcash adoption across the entire ecosystem.

• Gguy: While I’m open to considering grants like this I would need a lot more details about content to be produced, calls to action, and I’d like to hear from the community if there are any active or recent users of the wallet that have feedback on the current experience.

  • @GGuy We can provide a clear breakdown of content themes, calls to action, and the specific actions users will be asked to take. Each pillar has dedicated messaging, including Zcash Core education, NEAR Intents, Zashi, Brave Wallet activation, and optional partners like Flexa. We welcome feedback from current wallet users so we can incorporate real-world insights into the messaging and onboarding steps. The objective is to reach users at scale and guide them directly into the ecosystem in a measurable way.

• DecentralistDan: In the past we’ve talked about a marketing allocation. I’m really a fan of continuing to work with teams that we have great relationships with. We’re aligned and if we want to allocate from the marketing budget this is a good candidate for an impactful marketing campaign.

  • @decentralistdan Thanks for the kind words! We appreciate the continued support. This campaign reflects that alignment and is structured to give Zcash a strong and sustained presence in front of one of the largest privacy-aligned audiences in the world. The intent is to generate meaningful awareness and action across the entire ecosystem, not simply at the asset level.

• Jason: I agree in principle. But I am curious how many people are actually using the wallet and whether it has resulted in meaningful Zcash adoption.

  • @jason we can discuss metrics.

• Zerodartz: Interesting proposal, I would like to see community sentiment on this. The budget is big, but if everything is well planned and executed it could bring new eyes on Zcash and its wallets and ecosystem from people less familiar with crypto. Waiting for more details.

  • @zerodartz Thanks for taking the time and providing your thoughts! The budget reflects three months of global reach, multi language production, and the inventory required to make a real impact. The structure is planned, coordinated, and designed to introduce Zcash privacy to a very large audience and move users into wallets and applications. We welcome ongoing community feedback and are committed to answering any questions that help clarify how this campaign benefits the entire ecosystem.

[ShieldOrder]

Just posted a candidacy for ZCG focused on this kind of grant hygiene.

The reach is real, but at $750k for 90 days, this needs harder teeth

At this scale, I’d want:
• clear conversion path (impression >> click >> wallet >> shielded usage),
• milestones tied to shielded-specific outcomes,
• cost-per-acquired-shielded-user benchmarks,
• an independent verification step before final payout.

Big grants are great as long as the accountability layer is equally strong.

Happy to expand if useful.

[BraveCarlos]

@ShieldOrder
Thank you for the feedback. We agree that large campaigns need clear accountability and measurable outcomes. Our objective is to create a conversion path that moves from awareness into actual Zcash usage across the ecosystem, not to stop at impressions. Below are the elements we can commit to in a way that respects user privacy and reflects how Brave measures performance.

1. Conversion path clarity
   We can map the full funnel using UTMs and surface-level analytics. This will show:
   • impressions
   • clicks
   • landing page engagement
   • follow through into ecosystem destinations, including Zashi, NEAR Intents, Flexa, and Brave Wallet

2. Shielded-specific impact
   Brave cannot track on-chain user behavior at the individual level.

3. Benchmarks and cost efficiency
   Brave campaigns have consistently over-delivered on click and engagement metrics. For this campaign, we will report:
   • cost per click
   • click-through rate
   • impressions served

4. Verification and accountability
   We welcome an independent review step. We will provide weekly dashboards, format-by-format delivery, and a comprehensive final report that includes all metrics, segmentation, and traffic validation. Brave’s ad systems already include fraud prevention, delivery verification, and pacing controls that ensure the numbers match what is contracted.

5. Purpose of this campaign
   To be clear, the goal is not to promote Brave Wallet in isolation. The goal is to increase Zcash adoption across the entire ecosystem, including Zashi, NEAR Intents, and partners like Flexa. Brave Wallet is only one entry surface. The intent is to give Zcash broad reach and drive meaningful activation across all wallet and application options.

We are committed to delivering measurable, transparent results while maintaining user privacy and supporting the entire Zcash ecosystem.

[nullcopy]

Can this start small, instead, and scale up as successful? Perhaps with engagement based milestones?

I’m not a marketing expert, but from what I understand, no campaign is guaranteed to do well. Every marketing agency I’ve talked to in the past likes to start small.. testing different messaging approaches to see what is engaging (measured by CTR), and then scale up the ad spend as they find a campaign that is working.

I see value in Brave NTT marketing, especially given the privacy focused audience that Brave has. I think $250k/mo could even be worth it for the right campaign. I just wonder if the strategy could be derisked, instead of paying a full $750k lump sum up front.

[ShieldOrder]

The privacy centric audience Brave brings is the right direction, but that alone does not justify full scale spend without evidence. The sustainable model is a staged rollout with clear validation steps first.
Start small, measure actual lift with CTR and conversion metrics, then scale only when the data supports it. This keeps risk contained and keeps ZCG’s spend predictable.
A proposal of this size needs milestone gates, not lump sums, so that performance and engagement drive expansion rather than assumptions. That is how we protect runway and still support high potential campaigns.

[frankbraun]

My reply is in reference to this:

ZCG Nominations Now Open!

I have a practical question for candidates who already have the opportunity to leave their comments on current grant proposals if they wish. Some have already done so, and I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of the committee. Very soon, someone will have to make difficult choices every week. Approving or rejecting a grant is always a huge responsibility, first and foremost to the community and, of course, to the applicant. In practice, it is literally a choice between common sense an…

I would most likely reject this application.

The requested sum of $750k is very high and I don’t think that a paid marketing campaign can deliver value for Zcash on that order and this grant has no deliverables that could be reused over time.

I don’t think that “burning ZCG money for ads”, to put it bluntly, would be a good use of ZCG resources.

[readymouse]

My reply to:

ZCG Nominations Now Open!

I have a practical question for candidates who already have the opportunity to leave their comments on current grant proposals if they wish. Some have already done so, and I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of the committee. Very soon, someone will have to make difficult choices every week. Approving or rejecting a grant is always a huge responsibility, first and foremost to the community and, of course, to the applicant. In practice, it is literally a choice between common sense an…

I would suggest rejection and ask for revision and re-submission.

• As others have suggested, I would like to see a milestone approach with metrics to continue funding. I would like to see samples of what ads would be shown, as the first milestone for the marketing efforts. Then the second milestone to be a trial run, with metrics and outputs before approving more funds. Will the weekly dashboard of results be available publicly, or at least to the ZCG for review?

• Would the inclusion of NEAR Intents be generically about the technology, or specifically how to use it inside of Zashi? It doesn’t look like Brave Wallet supports NEAR swaps natively like Zashi does. As much as I love NEAR Intents, this is a marketing campaign for Zcash + Zashi.

Question for ZCG: Have there been past marketing campaigns that did well? Not so well? Were there lessons learned from those campaigns that could shape Brave’s proposal for better effect?

Summary: I agree that marketing for Zcash and Zashi is needed, and a campaign like this could be successful among Brave users who are already privacy minded. However I would like to see revisions before approval.

[thowar2]

As a prospective candidate, I agree with this take.

[Anaximander]

I welcome Brave’s initiative. Brave is a natural partner: we already collaborate, we share the same privacy-first values, and their reach is massive.

I would therefore propose to organize a direct call with their team (and ECC if helpful) to:
• better understand the exact campaign plan and expected outcomes
• explore other types of collaboration

My bias is toward deeper, structural partnerships that let both Zcash and Brave leverage each other’s. I think there is synergies between Zcash and Brave and both could profit from each others.

If the data shows a short campaign is the highest-impact move right now, I will support it, but probably not this amount; but with strict milestones and clawbacks.

[BraveCarlos]

Hey @nullcopy We agree that testing and optimization matter, but in this case a small pilot would not generate enough volume or geographic diversity to produce reliable CTR or engagement baselines, and it would not give Zcash meaningful lift across Zashi, Brave Wallet, NEAR Intents, or Flexa.

The three month plan is already structured for controlled learning with weekly reporting, creative rotation, and continuous optimization, and Brave’s inventory pricing is fixed rather than auction based, so starting small does not reduce risk or improve efficiency. The most effective and predictable way to drive real ecosystem adoption is to run at full scale, where performance stabilizes and where the conversion funnel can be measured cleanly across all surfaces. The structure is data-driven, measurable, and accountable, and the full footprint is necessary to create meaningful results for Zcash.

[BraveCarlos]

Hey @ShieldOrder, Low volume flights create unstable CTR and conversion signals, fragmentation across markets, and no meaningful lift. The current 90 day structure already delivers controlled pacing, clear metrics, and weekly reporting, so performance validation is built into the flight itself rather than added as an external gate. Brave’s inventory is fixed rate, not auction based, so smaller tests do not reduce risk or increase predictability. The scale is what produces stable CTR, measurable conversions, and real ecosystem adoption. A full footprint is the most efficient and evidence driven way to achieve the outcomes the community wants while giving ZCG complete visibility into performance throughout the campaign.

[BraveCarlos]

Thanks @readymouse. Please see this comment concerning the milestone approach. Zcash 90-Day Global Privacy Campaign via Brave — Dec 2025 through Feb 2026 - #14 by BraveCarlos

Replying to your second questions about Intents, the inclusion is focused on how Zcash privacy is used inside the ecosystem, not on promoting generic technology. In practice this means the messaging highlights how Zashi uses NEAR Intents for private cross chain flows, since Zashi is the wallet that supports this experience today. Brave Wallet is only one activation surface and does not support NEAR swaps, so NEAR Intents would not be positioned as a Brave Wallet feature. The goal is to show users how Zcash privacy works across applications, with Zashi as the primary example for this part of the campaign.

[ShieldOrder]

Thanks @BraveCarlos. I appreciate the context on pacing and the fixed-rate structure.

From a ZCG perspective the core question isn’t about CTR stability or auction dynamics, it’s about structuring large commitments with clear checkpoints. A three-month flight at this scale is still a significant allocation, and the committee’s responsibility is to maintain predictable verification paths regardless of channel strategy.

My earlier point wasn’t about delaying the campaign or shrinking it. It was about aligning a large spend with milestone-based review so the committee can verify performance, adjust if required, and ensure the spend is tracking toward the intended outcomes.

If the weekly reporting you describe provides enough granularity to function as those gates, then that may satisfy the structure I was pointing to. The committee just needs a way to evaluate progress and apply course-correction without committing the full amount unconditionally.

ZCG can assess whether the weekly reporting meets that requirement when the final version is reviewed.

[1337bytes]

I feel that such campaigns should be split by month, into separate milestones: with an initial base amount, together with unlockable milestones based on target metrics. This is a large amount for a single grant, and I’m not sure that it would provide more value than funding development for the same amount; granted I may be a little skeptical of advertising, at least without a long-term strategy to capitalise on the momentum, and believe more in organic growth and grassroots marketing efforts.

If we see a large influx of users, how will we keep these users long-term?

[vaspholdings]

@1337bytes

If we see a large influx of users, how will we keep these users long-term?

And… is Brave Wallet ready for an influx of pragmatic users? Will they have a bad user experience trying to shield, transfer, etc?

Personally I don’t like using a browser (extension) for crypto assets, even if for small amounts, because of the threat model. But ignoring that for now… is it feature complete for Zcash shielded use, enough for a Brave user to have a good experience using Zcash in it?

If the answer is no, regardless of any other factors, this grant needs to be delayed at least, until the wallet does have a good user experience with Zcash shielded.

[vaspholdings]

…And have Brave staffed up support staff, knowledgeable in how Zcash shielded vs transparent works, etc and how Zcash works within Brave Wallet?

I find Brave’s customer support to be good. But this is another essential prong in knowing if the timing is right.

We shouldn’t expect to support a large influx of such users on Zcash Discord, or in these forums.

[JoakimEQ]

Saw a Zcash ad on brave today actually. So did someone else pay for this?