Announcing the winners of ZecHub Hackathon 3.0!
Firstly, a huge thanks to every Zcasher that worked on one of the 36 projects submitted. This hackathon has been monumental in terms of participation, novelty and quality of submissions. Many projects that did not win this time should 100% continue developement.
From May 25th to July 15th developers in the ecosystem built across 5 tracks: Infrastructure, Games, FROST, Zcash Login and Accounting. Participants created working prototypes that explored new ways to use Zcash for private identity, collaborative custody, financial management, infrastructure and interactive games. Congratulations to everyone who had an idea, built it, documented it & demonstrated it to the community.
Read the full article featuring all projects, descriptions and video demos:
During project reviews DAO members were asked to consider:
How well each project works
How meaningfully it uses the Zcash network/features
Completeness
Originality
Potential ecosystem impact
Documentation quality and ease of testing
The winners were selected through a 2 stage vote by the ZecHub DAO. First, we used first-past-the-post voting within each track to select the highest supported project, producing 5 finalists, one from each category. The finalists were then ranked using Bloc STAR voting, scoring each project before a final runoff determined the order. The complete voting process was conducted twice, both votes producing the same finalists!
With that, we are excited to announce the winners! 
Created by @orbism(@ArtofOrb) ZEC-OS presents the Zcash ecosystem through a customizable retro desktop interface containing an explorer, mempool viewer, network statistics, historical charts, shielded pool data, mining tools, a Unified Address decoder, calculators, games, a terminal and other applications.
Behind the interface is a Next.js frontend with a Fastify, Prisma and PostgreSQL backend. It connects to Zcash node and indexing infrastructure for live blockchain data, uses Zaino or lightwalletd for light-client access, and integrates Zingo CLI for shielded ownership-verification flows.
Demo site: https://zec-os.com/
Github: GitHub - orbism/zec-os_hackathon2026: ZEC-OS v1.1.2+zechub-hackathon2026 edition · GitHub
Built by the @craftsoldier (ZcashMe) team, Authentication with ZcashMe turns a shielded Zcash transaction into a private sign-in flow that applications can access through familiar OpenID Connect tooling.
A user begins with a human-readable Zcash name, scans a QR code and sends a small shielded authentication payment. A Rust service built with librustzcash detects the transaction and returns a deterministic one-time password through an encrypted memo. An OIDC identity broker then hides the blockchain complexity from applications, allowing developers to integrate Zcash authentication through standard OAuth-compatible libraries and frameworks.
Demo site: Try ZcashMe — Live Demo
Github: GitHub - zcashme/zns-login: Zcash-based authentication: pay to log in · GitHub
Built by @hitch(@zafuwallet), zk.poker is a trust-minimized heads-up poker platform where neither the server nor a central operator can see the players’ cards or independently control the pot.
Players jointly shuffle and encrypt the deck through a mental-poker ceremony, with shuffle proofs and per-card zero-knowledge reveals used to verify that the game remains fair. Communication passes through an encrypted relay, while funds are held in a 2-of-3 FROST shielded escrow. Settlement requires signatures from both players over the agreed outcome, preventing the operator from redirecting the pot.
Github: Hackathon 2026: zk.poker — trustless heads-up hold'em (FROST + Gaming) by hitchho · Pull Request #1856 · ZecHub/zechub · GitHub
Built by @Uscmigs (@USCMigs), CYZE is a desktop wallet and signing companion that enables groups to jointly manage shielded Zcash funds without any participant possessing the complete private key.
CYZE provides distributed key-generation ceremonies, configurable threshold policies and rerandomized RedPallas FROST signing for shielded transactions. Participants review and approve transactions before producing their signature shares, while ceremony messages are end-to-end encrypted and the coordination server acts only as an untrusted relay. The application also includes an encrypted keystore, recovery support, group management and a PCZT-based transaction-building and signing flow.
Github: GitHub - USCMig/Cyze: Cyze - FROST front-end for ZCash signature threshold execution · GitHub
Built by @dorianvp (@vp_dorian), José R. Gómez and Micaela, Pendrake Watch is a watch-only desktop wallet for individuals and organizations that need visibility into shielded funds without holding the authority to spend them.
The application imports only a Unified Full Viewing Key and uses a Zingolib-based background service to locally discover Orchard and Sapling notes, transactions and memos. It provides balance history, historical fiat valuations, transaction notifications, note-level information and a discreet mode for hiding sensitive information during screen sharing. Wallet data is encrypted at rest, while the background daemon can continue synchronizing when the main interface is closed or locked.
Github: GitHub - auzum197/pendrake-watch · GitHub
Thank you again to everyone who built a project, we hope you gained useful knowledge & hands-on experience building with Zcash. You have contributed new ideas and valuable open-source work to the Zcash ecosystem.
Hackathon site HERE 
Article 
Zechub Hackathon 3.0! 
