Zcash Community Grants (ZCG) Meeting Minutes 4/14/2025

Community Grants Community Grants Updates
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Grant Dashboard

Zcash Community Grants Committee Google Meet Meeting: April 14, 2025

[Minutes taken by FPF]

Attendance:

  • Artkor
  • Brian
  • GGuy (not present, voted async)
  • Jason
  • Zerodartz
  • Alex (FPF resource, notetaker)

Key Takeaways:

Open Grant Proposals

  • Zenith Full Node Wallet 2025
    • Vergara Technologies, run by Pitmutt, is proposing to enhance the Zenith Full Node Wallet by adding support for Frost Multi-sig wallets and integrating the Keystone hardware wallet for private storage. The Grant is going to fund the development of functionality to create Multi-sig wallets using distributed key generation and enable the signing of and initiation of multi-sig transactions. Total request is $91,700 covering development costs, hardware purchases and a donation to the Open Privacy Research Society. ZCG members are asked to provide their feedback and vote.
      • Jason: We actively tried to get feedback from the core teams on two separate Arborist calls and we had some private Signal messages as well. We’re going to reject this because it’s just not high enough of a priority. We like that the Zenith wallet that it exists and we respect Pitmutt’s work, but I think additional feature development at the current time is hard to justify in terms of costs. If the price of ZEC recovers or we have additional funding to allocate, we probably would support this. I very much value Pitmutt’s contributions and this one is a very tough call but we need to preserve funding for other priorities.
      • Brian: Nothing to add from me, spot on. I reject.
      • Arktor: I agree. This isn’t the right time but it could be considered after NU7 maybe. I reject.
      • Zerodartz: I also agree and reject.
      • Unanimous rejection.
  • Complete Zaino!
    • Zingo Labs is requesting $151,240 to upgrade and extend Zcash infrastructure through the Zaino project. Focusing on decentralizing critical components by implementing core functionality and APIs in Rust. The project aims to replace an outdated c++ component with modern Rust technology, improving development speed and efficiency while collaborating with ECC, ZF, Blockchain Commons and others. The grant is going to cover hardware, software services, and compensation for developers who are working full-time over a three month period. The milestones include the implementation of new RPCs, updating the Zcash RPC specification, and integrating a back end to support light wallets. ZCG members are asked to provide their feedback and vote.
    • Artkor: I support moving forward with this grant. I approve.
    • Brian: I definitely support this grant. I think it’s important and would like to see this team continue to be funded and engaged.
    • Zerodartz: I also agree. Zaino has become part of the core protocol and it’s important they can make it on time and so far they’ve delivered pretty well. I approve.
    • Jason: Zingo is doing a great job. I hear a lot of positive feedback about their contribution to the zcashd depreciation effort. Their collaboration with Blockchain Commons is also very much valued by the core teams. I approve.
    • Unanimous approval.
  • Zcash Open Learning Lab Space
    • Onose Oghenevwogaga is requesting $15,000 to establish the Zcash Open Learning Lab space in Nigeria aimed at providing Web 3 developers with resources to transition into Zcash developers. The lab offers co-working space, training events, and live streaming of Zcash-related content including things like Zcon to help grow Zcash’s presence in Nigeria. The project also includes hosting four monthly Zcash meetups supporting developer contests, and creating a collaborative space for Web 3 innovation. The grant funds will go to cover lab setup equipment and event costs for the first year with a focus on increasing Zcash adoption and fostering financial privacy education. ZCG members are asked to provide their feedback and vote.
    • Jason: This project is too high risk. There’s a good chance it doesn’t work out, and it’s not really in scope for projects we want to prioritize funding. I think that what I would like to see him signal that he’s serious about engaging with the Zcash community and contributing. Perhaps he could apply for a small grant with the ZecHub DAO for a meetup and then demonstrate that it is successful and grow from there.
    • Zerodartz: If they already had more activity in that place, I could see myself supporting it on a smaller scale, but as it is now I don’t think it’s reasonable for us to go forward with this proposal. They could be more active in ZecHub for example to collaborate with other locals and Zcashers. I reject.
    • Artkor: I see this proposal as purely local in nature. I appreciate the applicant but it’s clear and unfortunate that the community cannot afford to fund such a grant. I reject.
    • Brian: I think in general, I’m skeptical about large long-term, in-person commitments. I think the one-off in person engagements are more palatable especially for the current market. I’m also a little skeptical that this applicant is engaged enough with the community and knowledgeable enough about Zcash to make a commitment like this. I reject.
    • Unanimous rejection.
  • Unified Grant Tracking Dashboard
    • The Grant Tracking Dashboard will give the Zcash community a transparent, unified platform to monitor grant-funded projects. With real-time milestone tracking, structured reporting, and automated alerts, it will strengthen accountability, boost community engagement, and improve the efficiency of grant oversight. The requestor is asking for $21,600. ZCG members are asked to provide their feedback and vote.
    • Artkor: The idea is interesting but at this stage I don’t think this is necessary, we already have enough tools to track grants. When Zcash gets due recognition this proposal could become very relevant but now I’m ready to reject.
    • Brian: I agree with Artkor.
    • Zerodartz: Yeah. I would like to see something like this dashboard but not in that big scale, more minimal and smaller budget. So, I reject right now.
    • Unanimous rejection.
  • Upgrade BTCPayServer Zcash Plugin
    • This project aims to Fix the Zcash BTCPayServer plugin in preparation for 2.1, publishing a working version of the new extracted plugin. A BTCPayServer plugin will be published both to the BTCPayServer plugin store, together with a .btcpay bundle on GitHub. An updated version of zcash-walletd will be published with tested and working Sapling support. The requestor is asking for $21,600. ZCG members are asked to provide their feedback and vote.
    • Jason: We already have two orgs that want to integrate this: Nym and Tor. And this funding will also support ongoing maintenance and possible future contributions to the upstream repository. I think overall we see this as a high priority request.
    • Brian: There is a clear need so I definitely approve.
    • Artkor: At this point, I believe our main task is simply to update and restore the stable Zcash plugin for BTCPayServer. On behalf of the community, we ask the applicant to do everything to get this plugin implemented as soon as possible. I approve.
    • Zerodartz: I like this grant because we haven’t really had a practical solution for a while to integrate cash payments — at least not one that’s easy for people to use. There are a few other options out there, but they aren’t something most people can or want to use for various reasons. This one seems different — it’s already been tested, it has a recognizable name, and some merchants are actually willing to accept Zcash with this plugin. So I think we should fund it. That said, I’m also really hoping to see Hanh — or someone else — submit the Orchard proposal soon so we can get that going too.
    • Unanimous approval.
  • Ledger Live Integration
    • Zondax: This project’s main objective is to integrate the new Zcash Ledger Shielded application with Ledger Live to enable transparent transaction support. While they intend to explore shielded transaction integration in a subsequent phase, their initial focus is on delivering transparent transaction support within a reasonable timeframe to ensure a successful and timely release. The requestor is asking for $95,000.
    • The committee is continuing deliberations related to this grant. An update will be provided shortly.
  • PIXX
    • Pixx is a privacy-focused decentralized financial platform built to empower individuals with secure, global access to investing, lending, and tokenizing real-world assets—leveraging the unique privacy-preserving technology of Zcash. In an era where financial surveillance and exclusion are growing, Pixx stands for confidential, borderless economic empowerment. By integrating Zcash’s Zero-Knowledge Proof (zk-SNARK) infrastructure, Pixx ensures that users can engage in meaningful financial activity without sacrificing privacy or autonomy. The requestor is asking for $100,000. ZCG members are asked to provide their feedback and vote.
    • Brian: This request doesn’t really make sense. I’m a little skeptical about this grant and the team behind it. There isn’t much information available about their past experience delivering something like this. I’m also curious about their funding request since it looks like they’re asking for the full amount as startup funding.
    • Artkor: I agree with Brian. Doesn’t meet our current goals.
    • Zerodartz: The way the proposal is made and trying to find more info about the team and their website makes me skeptical about it. I reject.
    • Jason: I also reject.
    • Unanimous rejection.

Brainstorm Session Follow-Ups

  • Maya Protocol Update
    • ZCG is happy to see continued progress on this grant and the team seems focused and moving in the right direction.
  • ZKAV Club
    • Provided a status update on progress and lessons learned so far.
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