Zcash Community Grants Meeting Minutes 12/9/2024

Community Grants Community Grants Updates
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Below please find the latest ZCG meeting minutes and Public Dashboard link.

Attendance:

  • Amber
  • Brian
  • GGuy
  • Jason
  • Michael
  • Alex (FPF resource)
  • Deidra M (notetaker during transition period)

Key Takeaways:

Open Grant Proposals

  • Open Source Cash for Privacy and Simple Self-Custody This proposal seeks $50,000 to develop an open-source solution called Open Source Cash, which will bring privacy, affordability, and simple self-custody to Zcash using NFC tags. The project aims to create a mobile application and open-source SDK that enables users to interact with Zcash through physical NFC tags, replicating the advantages of traditional cash in the digital world. The grant will support the development of the SDK, mobile app, and security audits, with an emphasis on privacy and ease of use. The goal is to integrate this solution into the Zcash ecosystem and make it accessible for developers to incorporate into wallets, exchanges, and dApps.
    • ZCG unanimously voted to reject this grant.
  • Bank-to-Zcash Gateway: A Secure Fiat On/Off Ramp Solution This proposal seeks $80,000 to develop a secure, instant fiat-to-Zcash conversion solution for Argentina, with the possibility of expanding to Brazil. The solution would allow users to convert Argentine Pesos (ARS) to Zcash (ZEC) and vice versa without intermediary exchanges, leveraging local banking systems for seamless transfers. The plan includes a mobile app or Telegram bot as the MVP, with the goal of supporting up to 30,000 monthly transactions and expanding to other exchanges. The grant will fund software development, operations, and compliance costs over a year.
    • The committee gave their thoughts on this proposal. Brian said this grant was out of scope and felt ZCG had other priorities. GGuy said although he encourages grants like this, this particular grant needed to be more realistic in its current form and needed more thorough research. Jason agreed and added that this proposal was not currently possible and felt more like a nice idea than a thought-out proposal. He said more research from the applicant would be needed for regulatory compliance before ZCG could consider this grant.
    • The committee voted to reject this proposal.
      • Note: FPF conducted an initial regulatory review of this proposal and had ZCG voted in favor of the proposal, additional review would have been required prior to funding.

2025 Community Funding Programs Grants - ZCG will table these decisions until the new committee is appointed. The decision will likely be made at the January 20th meeting. Some members gave their thoughts on these community grants. Most of the committee shared their excitement about these grants happening in 2025. Jason added that he has been impressed with the collaboration within these core groups and the collective effort within the Zcash global community and is excited to see the accomplishments of these teams in 2025. Michael dissented and expressed that he fundamentally does not value these types of online presence and community-building grants. He also said that some of the funds requested are very high, even though they are for one full year.

Brainstorm Session Follow-Ups

  • GitHub Migration - GGuy gave an update on the GitHub migration. The submission form is up on GitHub! FPF and ZCG are hoping by January 2025 to be able to start the new year with a fully functional system (currently, milestones are being processed outside of GitHub, so there is no delay in payments).
  • ZconVI Poll (ZCG Topics) - Amber and Jason will attend tomorrow’s ZconVI meeting. The topics were ranked using the Helios Poll. The top-ranked topics were:
      1. Tied were Coin Holder Voting Mechanism & ZavaX Bridge
      1. Zcash Shielded Assets
      1. ZCG Panel
    • ZCG will contact Hanh, Kit, and QEDIT to inquire about their potential participation in ZconVI.
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2

I have noticed that sometimes you write that that the committee unanimously approve/reject a grant, and other times simply that the committee approved/rejected the grant. Does the latter case imply that it wasn’t unanimous?

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At this meeting, both grant proposals were unanimously rejected by the committee.

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Can we assume that unless otherwise is specified that the votes are unanimous?

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I’ll have to check with ZF/FPF on this as they compile the minutes. If it’s not a hard and fast rule, we can use that criteria going forward to make it more clear.

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