Zcash holders to vote on moving 50,000 ZEC from grants fund

Zcash holders and community panels are set to vote Nov. 16–30 on a proposal to move 50,000 ZEC, worth about $50 million, out of the Zcash Community Grants treasury and into a reserve that returns value through future mining rewards. The draft would also end the grants program’s automatic share of newly issued ZEC, changing how its work is funded. CoinDesk’s report on the proposal says the vote follows a draft Zcash Improvement Proposal written by Sean Bowe, Zooko Wilcox and Jason McGee.

How would the 50,000 ZEC move through the network?

If the proposal is adopted and activated in a network upgrade, Zcash Community Grants (ZCG) would have 30 days to remove the coins from circulation. The value would then be credited to the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM), a reserve that returns ZEC gradually through future block rewards. Think of it as a reserve that releases value over time, rather than a one-time payment to miners.

The draft says the NSM would help fund future miners, whose machines confirm transactions and secure the network. It does not set an activation height. The transfer depends on community support and a network upgrade.

What changes for the grants program’s funding?

ZCG currently receives 8% of newly created ZEC. Under the proposal, that share would instead accumulate in a new Future Dev and Legal Defense Fund until Zcash’s next halving. The funds would initially be locked: spending would require a separate proposal to set withdrawal rules.

ZCG would keep the rest of its treasury and continue awarding grants. A separate 12% Coinholder-Controlled Fund would remain unchanged. The proposal’s Zcash Community Forum post describes the plan to reduce the treasury, end its future funding stream and create the new fund.

What does the vote decide, and what happens next?

The polls will test support among coinholders and community panels; they do not immediately move the coins or change block rewards. Organizers will assess whether the results show “rough consensus.” If they do, engineering teams and miners would work toward a follow-up network upgrade called NU7.1. The draft has no activation date.

The proposed transfer is about 55% of the 91,453 ZEC in an October treasury snapshot cited by the draft. Using that snapshot, an assumed ZEC price of $1,300 and spending from the first half of 2026, the draft estimates the remaining treasury could cover about six years of expenses after the transfer, down from about 13 years without it. Those are estimates based on the draft’s stated assumptions, not guaranteed funding horizons.

Sources and documents

• CoinDesk’s report on the proposal — coindesk.com
• proposal’s Zcash Community Forum post — forum.zcashcommunity.com