A Zcash grants proposal from co-founder Sean Bowe would end the automatic allocation of 8% of block subsidies to Zcash Community Grants and redirect that funding to the Network Sustainability Mechanism. The draft, published on October 26, 2026, argues that the grants program has enough reserves to continue funding projects.
Key Takeaways
- The draft would redirect future funding, not remove assets already held by the grants program.
- Bowe estimates reserves after liabilities at $125.3 million if ZEC is valued at $1,300.
- The separate 12% allocation to the Coinholder-Controlled Fund would remain unchanged.
How the Zcash grants proposal would work
The proposed change would send the remaining 8% allocation to the Network Sustainability Mechanism for the rest of the funding stream’s existing term. The mechanism’s own specification would govern how it handles the funds.
Zcash Community Grants would retain its treasury and could continue making awards from accumulated resources. The draft is a proposal, not an enacted change.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| ZEC at $1,300 | Estimated reserves after liabilities: $125.3 million |
| ZEC at $1,000 | Estimated reserves after liabilities: $97.8 million |
| ZEC at $500 | Estimated reserves after liabilities: $52.1 million |
Reserve estimates depend on ZEC’s price
The draft cites a grants dashboard showing 91,452.98 ZEC, $8.8 million in U.S. dollar holdings and $2.42 million in outstanding grant liabilities. Bowe’s estimates of the resources remaining after liabilities vary with the assumed ZEC price and exclude future funding receipts.
The Financial Privacy Foundation reported $1.53 million in grants expenses for the first quarter of 2026, equivalent to $6.12 million on an annualised basis. At an illustrative $10 million annual spending rate, the draft estimates reserves would cover about 12.5 years at $1,300 per ZEC, or 5.2 years at $500.
Other network rules would remain intact
The draft calculates that the current 8% allocation amounts to 52,560 ZEC annually. At an assumed $1,300 per coin, that would be approximately $68.3 million a year.
The proposal would not change Zcash’s maximum supply, invalidate historical blocks or alter existing transaction formats. It also says the redirection would not change the privacy properties of transparent or shielded transactions.
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