Zcash co-founder Sean Bowe has proposed ending automatic funding for the privacy network's community grants program, arguing that its treasury is now substantial enough to sustain operations without new contributions.
Under Bowe's draft proposal, the 8% share of newly created ZEC currently directed to Zcash Community Grants (ZCG) would instead be redirected to a reserve for future mining rewards. The grants committee would retain its existing assets and continue distributing funds from them.
Bowe estimates that ZCG holds approximately $125 million in available funds after accounting for existing commitments, using an illustrative ZEC price of $1,300. He calculates that even at a substantially lower price of $500 per coin, the treasury would cover roughly five years of spending at an assumed $10 million annual expenditure rate.
The grants program currently receives about 144 ZEC daily from the automatic allocation, worth approximately $68 million annually at current valuations. By contrast, the Financial Privacy Foundation, which administers ZCG's funds, reported just over $1.5 million in program expenses for the first quarter of 2026.
The proposal would require a change to Zcash's network rules and has no specified activation date. Until such a change takes effect, ZCG's automatic allocation continues at its current rate.
A second funding program receiving 12% of newly created ZEC would remain unchanged under Bowe's proposal, as holders vote quarterly on its grants through a separate process. Bowe's proposal argues that continuing to accumulate funds in ZCG's custody and governance structure adds unnecessary risk given the program's already substantial reserves.
