Zcash Community Grants (ZCG) Meeting Minutes 3/16/26

Community Grants Community Grants Updates
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Grant Dashboard

Zcash Community Grants Committee Google Meet Meeting: March 16, 2026

Attendance:

  • Artkor

  • GGuy

  • Hanh

  • Zerodartz

  • Alex (FPF resource, notetaker)

Not present:

  • Decentralistdan

Key Takeaways:

Open Grant Proposals

  • Wrapped Zcash

    • Wrapped Zcash (WZEC) is a fully collateralized ERC-20 representation of ZEC designed to restore Zcash’s interoperability with Ethereum, Layer-2, and other EVM ecosystems, enabling holders to participate in lending, liquidity provision, and broader DeFi activity without sacrificing transparency or security. The system uses Chainlink’s Runtime Environment and Proof of Reserve to provide real-time, on-chain verification that every WZEC minted is backed 1:1 by deposited ZEC, automatically preventing under-collateralization, while institutional custody is provided by BitGo for secure mint and redemption operations. This trust-minimized architecture delivers deterministic mint/burn guarantees, continuous reserve attestation, and upgradeable smart contracts to support multi-chain expansion. The team is self-funding development, infrastructure, and security work, requesting $80,000 solely for essential service providers and liquidity bootstrapping to accelerate adoption, with the goal of transforming ZEC from an isolated privacy asset into a composable DeFi primitive.

      • Remains open, waiting on feedback from several parties.

    • Incrypted Media Support in the CIS Region

      • Incrypted is proposing a localized educational media campaign to raise Zcash awareness among CIS and Eastern European Web3 audiences. The project addresses the lack of accessible, native-language (Ukrainian and Russian) content about Zcash by producing original videos, articles, and Telegram digests across Incrypted’s existing platforms. The goal is to simplify Zcash’s privacy technology for general crypto users in the region and drive broader adoption. Applicant is requesting $45,000.

        • Artkor: We commented on the proposal on GitHub and noted that we’re declining it in its current form, since we prefer not to support sponsored news content about Zcash. As an alternative, we suggested a hybrid collaboration approach via ZecHub and localization.

        • Declined (unanimous)

    • Strategic Lobbying and Community Building for the Proliferation and Understanding of Zcash in Japan

      • Fracton Ventures, a Japanese crypto incubator, in collaboration with Centrum, is proposing a two-pronged initiative to advance Zcash adoption in Japan: a regulatory lobbying effort (80% of budget) targeting the Financial Services Agency and legal experts to build understanding of Zcash’s compliance-compatible privacy features, and a community-building effort (20%) to engage developers and users. The project aims to address Japan’s historically cautious stance toward privacy coins by clarifying the technical distinctions of Zcash’s selective disclosure and ZK-SNARK capabilities within the Japanese regulatory context. Applicant is requesting $25,000.

        • Hanh: Similar to what was said about the previous grant. For this grant, the first thing was that they used the wording “lobbying,” which we feel is out of scope for ZCG, although it could be a communication issue. So maybe they can rephrase that. But generally speaking, if it’s educational content, they should go with the standard route to become involved with ZecHub.

        • Artkor: I appreciate the proposal from the community in Japan. Thank you for the interest in the Zcash, but I agree that references to lobbying should be removed from the proposal. So, I’m rejecting this current form.

        • Gguy: While we’ll be rejecting this one today I do think Japan is an important region and I’d like to see this group find some ways to contribute.

        • Zerodartz: I’d also like to see Japan’s community become more active. Maybe first try to work with ZecHub.

        • Decentralistdan: Reject in Current form, would like to see them contribute to ZecHub and establish themselves in the community.

        • Declined (unanimous)

    • OneKey Zcash Hardware Support with Unified Wallet Architecture (Transparent + Shielded)

      • OneKey, an open-source hardware wallet provider with nearly one million users across 166 countries and a recent $150M Series B valuation, is proposing to implement full Zcash support — including transparent and Orchard shielded transactions — into its hardware wallet firmware. Deliverables include firmware-level transaction signing, PCZT parsing, on-device clear signing with display of transaction details, automated regression testing, an external security audit, and a production release, all under OneKey’s existing open-source license. Applicant is requesting $45,000.

        • Artkor: I’m ready to approve this proposal as it currently stands.

        • Gguy: I also vote to approve this proposal. While we don’t always fund wallet integrations given that there is a hardware component to this grant I think it’s important we increase the safety levels of users with things like hardware wallets.

        • Zerodartz: My main concern is that it’s the most expensive hardware wallet I’ve seen, it’s almost $300. So I don’t know how many users there are because of that. But, the budget for this grant is quite reasonable and if they can manage to integrate Zcash it would be good. I approve.

        • Hanh: Yeah, this is one of the cheapest hardware wallet integrations, and on paper, it looks like they are going with the standard route of integrating the PCZT transaction format. So looks legit, I approve.

        • Decentralistdan: Approve, Zcash integrations into more hardware wallets is in line with current ZCG funding priorities.

        • Approved (unanimous)

    • Marketing at ETHCC + Exxxotica, Chicago

      • A grassroots marketing team of 3–4 people is proposing to attend two spring 2026 events — ETHCC Cannes (March 30–April 3) and Exxxotica Chicago (April 10–12) — to drive Zcash and Zodl wallet adoption through direct user onboarding, building on documented results from prior appearances at DevConnect Buenos Aires and ETHDenver. The proposal includes a potential co-booth with Bitrefill at Exxxotica, daily social media documentation of new user onboarding, follow-up outreach to 300+ existing contacts, and post-event reports tracking new wallet downloads, conversations, and partnerships. Applicant is requesting $18,500.

    • Blockwee

      • Blockwee proposes to produce professional, high-quality video coverage of Zcash’s presence at EthCC Cannes to extend the conference’s impact beyond in-person attendees and strengthen global community engagement. A two-person production team will film keynotes, booth activity, community interactions, and interviews with core team members, partners, and ecosystem leaders, translating on-site insights into polished digital narratives. The project addresses the current gap in consistent, high-caliber conference documentation, where important announcements and discussions are often inaccessible to the broader community. Through a curated content package—including a 3–5 minute highlight reel, multiple short interview segments, and platform-optimized social media teasers—the initiative will convert a single event into evergreen marketing and educational assets that sustain awareness, showcase Zcash’s brand and technology, and support ongoing community growth. Applicant is requesting $25,000.

        • Artkor: I believe that this area of activity has already been covered by previous grants. So this proposal is most likely redundant and that’s why I reject this one.

        • Hanh: I reject this grant because this seems to be something that we’re sponsoring via ZK AV Club.

        • Zerodartz: It’s a reject for me mainly because this is not the event we’re focusing on with big teams. There are a few people there but not enough so from that point of perspective, this grant doesn’t make any sense to me.

        • Decentralistdan: reject. this area of focus is currently being funded by ZCG

        • Declined (unanimous)

6 Likes
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Hey, not sure if it should be included here, but I don’t see any reference to Maya Protocol Advanced Shielded ZEC Support (Retroactive Grant) on the post or on the dashboard

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This is the Zcash Community Grants (ZCG) program, not the Coinholder-Directed Retroactive Grants Program that you applied to. Vote is upcoming, latest info here.

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Ah right, thanks!

1 Like