Zcash co-founder Sean Bowe proposes switching off the community grants stream, saying the fund holds about $125 million

Sean Bowe, a Zcash co-founder, has proposed turning off the funding stream for Zcash Community Grants. "It's time to turn off the ZCG funding stream," he wrote on X, arguing the program was never designed to handle this much money. The 8% of newly created ZEC that now goes to ZCG would instead go to the Network Sustainability Mechanism, a reserve for future mining rewards, for the rest of the stream's term. Bowe says it would not increase ZEC's supply.

The numbers drive his case. CoinDesk reported the allocation adds about 144 ZEC a day, roughly $68 million a year at $1,300 per ZEC, while the Financial Privacy Foundation, which administers the funds, reported just over $1.5 million of ZCG expenses in the first quarter of 2026. The Block said the draft is on GitHub and that ZCG would keep what it holds and honor commitments.

A separate 12% allocation, the Coinholder-Controlled Fund, would stay as it is. The draft needs a network upgrade to take effect, and neither outlet reported a vote date. ZCG is run by a five-member committee elected by a community advisory panel.