Zcash Member Proposes Ending Development Fund Before 2028 Expiration

A Zcash (ZEC) community member using the handle joshs has proposed ending the network’s development fund before its scheduled November 2028 expiration, as the two funding pools together have risen above $300 million.

The existing arrangement earmarks 20% of each block reward for development. Coinholders use quarterly votes to direct 12% toward retroactive grants, while a five-member Zcash Community Grants (ZCG) committee allocates the other 8%.

joshs said the pools’ combined value topped $300 million after ZEC’s price rose, a development that sparked debate over fund allocation. Separately, he argued that control over grant allocation had become control over Zcash itself.

The proposal comes amid earlier proposals to change Zcash’s block-reward funding, including a plan to end ZCG’s 8% share while keeping coinholder-directed funding. joshs called that approach incomplete and argued the fund should either run to its scheduled end or be terminated in full.

joshs said he proposed the current arrangement in 2025, when funding was scarce, and that privately funded teams have since joined the ecosystem. He argued that funding is no longer scarce and that voting power tied to coin holdings can be bought. He also said some community members had told him they feared losing funding if they spoke out.