Zcash Community Grant Meeting Minutes 9/1/25

Community Grants Community Grants Updates
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Grant Dashboard**

Zcash Community Grants Committee Google Meet Meeting: September 1, 2025**

[Minutes taken by FPF]

Attendance:

  • Artkor

  • GGuy

  • Jason

  • Zerodartz

  • Decentralistdan (did not attend, voted async)

  • Alex (FPF resource, notetaker)

Key Takeaways:

Open Grant Proposals

  • Zcash integration into the Chainspect analytics platform

    • Chainspect will integrate Zcash into its leading blockchain analytics platform, adding real-time scalability and decentralization metrics—such as TPS, transaction volume, block time, finality, Nakamoto coefficient, miner distribution, and hashrate—alongside 50+ other tracked networks. This inclusion will provide the Zcash community, developers, researchers, and investors with an unbiased, publicly accessible dashboard for benchmarking network performance, running side-by-side comparisons, and tracking trends over time. With over 60K monthly active users, 1M+ monthly impressions on X, and citations from Bloomberg, Forbes, and Cointelegraph, Chainspect’s reach and credibility will boost Zcash’s visibility in Web3, support adoption, and ensure that its network fundamentals are accurately represented to the broader blockchain ecosystem. Requestor is asking for $46,000. ZCG members are asked to provide their feedback and vote on this request.

      • Artkor: I reject this proposal because most of the metrics they’re proposing are already available on existing popular resources and it’s not a problem area for Zcash right now. The project’s budget is too high for the limited value it would deliver.

      • Jason: If any of these metrics were interesting to the community we could try to work with ZecHub or someone else to incorporate it into their platform.

      • Rejected, out of scope.

  • Ad-Priva

    • AdPriva is developing a privacy-first, AI-powered advertising and affiliate platform that replaces invasive tracking with user-owned, blockchain-verified data and Zcash’s shielded transactions. Users choose the ads they see, engage on their own terms, and earn direct stablecoin or ZEC rewards—verified on-chain without exposing their identity. Advertisers gain cryptographic proof of genuine engagement, eliminating ad fraud, while publishers monetize without cookies or intrusive tracking, all in compliance with global privacy laws. By using Zcash as the settlement and verification layer, AdPriva will create a transparent yet private ad marketplace that aligns user, advertiser, and publisher incentives, supports global participation, and meets growing demands for privacy and regulatory compliance. Requestor is asking for $150,000. ZCG members are asked to provide their feedback and vote on this request.

      • Jason: Too expensive and no interest has been shown by the community.

      • Rejected.

  • Zcash Global Turkey

    • This project builds on nearly a year of grassroots efforts to grow an informed and engaged Zcash community in Turkey. With interest in cryptocurrency already high, there remains a significant gap in awareness of financial privacy and the unique benefits of Zcash’s technology. The Zcash Turkey Team seeks to close this gap by creating localized resources, producing educational content across social media and YouTube, and organizing events that bring accurate, accessible information directly to users. By fostering awareness, equipping individuals with reliable knowledge, and cultivating a vibrant community hub, the project aims to position Zcash as a trusted privacy-first option in one of the world’s most active crypto markets and lay the foundation for sustainable, long-term growth. Requestor is asking for $10,400 USD. ZCG members are asked to provide their feedback and vote on this request.

      • Jason: I think we’re all pretty pleased with this team. They’ve been doing a good job. I also like their crowdfunding initiatives. I approve.

      • Artkor: I support this proposal too. The team is showing steady growth of the Turkish community. They actively produce content and they have grown their subscriber base and have already proven their effectiveness.

      • Gguy: I agree this team has been fairly visible to me which is a good sign it’s working.

      • ZeroDartz: One of the best community teams and they’ve been doing great work. I’d like it to continue.

      • decentralistdan: I am supportive of this grant and glad to see the continued activity and impact this team is having in the community.

      • Approved.

  • Tmek: Twitter Ambassador Program

    • This project establishes @_tm3k as a Zcash Twitter Ambassador to expand awareness and adoption of Zcash within the broader crypto community. By leveraging a well-connected Twitter profile with a high-profile following, the initiative will generate targeted conversations about Zcash’s privacy-preserving technology, produce regular educational content, and engage key influencers to amplify reach. Over a three-month period, the ambassador will publish educational threads, promote community milestones, and address misinformation, helping position Zcash more prominently in the social media landscape and driving greater understanding and engagement across audiences. Requestor is asking for $4,500 USD. ZCG members are asked to provide their feedback and vote on this request.

      • Artkor: I approve this proposal, the budget looks reasonable. The applicant has both experience and reach and in some ways has been the face of Zcash for some time in the trader community. I hope he will succeed in sparking interest in long-term ZEC holding and its uses a means of payment if he manages to present the full potential of the project to his audience in terms of the Zcash’s value.

      • Gguy: I think it’s important for us to continue to increase the visibility of Zcash and I think this is a good project to do that.

      • Zerodartz: Tmek has been one of the biggest Zcash personalities on twitter in the past, he’s kind of faded away for a while. But with this grant he’s willing to become more active and get some extra visibility for Zcash again. Let’s see how this experiment turns out.

      • Jason: I am fully supportive of this grant. This is Tmek 2.0. He’s the right person for this ambassador role and I think he’ll do a great job representing Zcash. Looking forward to seeing what the next few months have in store.

      • decentralistdan: I approve. I am interested in experimenting with this style of ambassador grant and glad to see a long term Zcash community member interested in becoming more active again.

      • Approved.

  • Cycles AI: Bring ZEC to DeFi

    • Cycles AI is developing a Shielded DeFi Gateway that allows users to move ZEC directly from shielded addresses into the multi-chain DeFi ecosystem as Wrapped ZEC (wZEC), eliminating the privacy risks and friction of centralized exchanges. This grant supports both the creation of the gateway and the adaptation of our proven AI trading engine, ensuring that once users bridge their ZEC, they can immediately put it to work in automated trading strategies. By delivering a seamless “shield-to-yield” experience, the project enhances Zcash’s interoperability, drives liquidity for wZEC, and provides a powerful new utility layer that strengthens the broader Zcash ecosystem. Requestor is asking for $25,000 USD. ZCG members are asked to provide their feedback and vote on this request.

      • Jason: FYI, this is the third application from this individual.

      • Artkor: I don’t see much value in this proposal for two reasons. With the arrival of decentralized exchanges that allow us to directly swap native ZEC, the idea of wrapping ZEC on other networks has lost its purpose. I don’t see a real use case for it. On the contrary, I see strong value in wrapping and shielding assets from other networks inside Zcash. That’s why the community is focused on deploying ZSAs. So I remain skeptical about this proposal. I reject.

      • Zerodartz: Since we already have some decentralized exchanges that work really well and have a lot of liquidity, I don’t see most of the DeFi proposals to be successful if they’re small like this one. I reject.

      • decentralistdan: Reject. This grant is not a good fit for funding by ZCG at the moment.

      • Rejected.

  • Adoption and awareness of Zcash in Akwaibom state Nigeria

    • The Zcash Akwa Ibom Onboarding & Education (ZAIO) project seeks to close the gap between growing interest in digital payments and the safe, practical use of privacy-preserving tools in Nigeria. Centered in Akwa Ibom State, with pilot activities in Uyo, the initiative combines coordinated social media outreach, gamified learning through Zealy, and on-the-ground workshops to introduce students, small businesses, and creators to the principles of financial privacy and the practical benefits of using Zcash. Over the course of the program, ZAIO will generate wide awareness, guide hundreds of learners through structured education, activate new wallets and shielded transactions, and establish a vibrant community hub led by trained local champions. By equipping new users with privacy-first financial literacy and building grassroots capacity, this project will strengthen both local communities and the global Zcash ecosystem. Requestor is asking for $4,000 USD. ZCG members are asked to provide their feedback and vote on this request.

      • Zerodartz: I reached out to CJ Frankie and they hadn’t communicated with them to include them in this proposal. So, it’s not the best look. And if they really want to contribute, they could try to reach out to them and work with Zcash Nigeria first and then later if they’re successful, they could propose another grant. I reject.

      • Gguy: I agree, we need to see some track record.

      • decentralistdan: Reject. Agreed about needing a track record and suggestion to work with other members of the community from that region first.

      • Rejected. ZCG suggests that the requestor connect with Zcash Nigeria to potentially work together in the future.

Brainstorm Session Follow-Ups

  • Ledger

    • Waiting for a formal grant proposal submission.

  • Dark Prague / Frank Braun

    • ZCG is using the discretionary budget to spend €10,000 for a middle-tier sponsorship which includes a booth and we’re working on getting some folks from Zashi to attend. Other community members that might attend include Jason from ZecHub, ZeroDartz, Marek from the Zcash Foundation and others.

  • Web3Privacy Sponsorship

    • Happening in Argentina in November. ZCG will use the discretionary budget to sponsor at the €30,000 tier. Formalizing this sponsorship is underway.

  • Process for Non-Grant Topics

Visit link for reference. ZCG acknowledges that certain processes could be more visible (like the ZCG RFP process), so ZCG/FPF will consider making some GitHub changes to address that. Also noting that ZCG’s purview is clearly stated in multiple ZIPs, so any proposed changes to ZCG’s scope would need to follow the ZIP process.

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