Zcash co-founder Sean Bowe has proposed ending automatic funding for the Zcash Community Grants (ZCG) program, suggesting the remaining 8% share of block subsidies be redirected to the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM). In a post on X, Bowe argued that the ZCG has accumulated over $125 million in funding and was not designed to handle such a large amount. The proposal comes nearly six years after the program's launch in 2020 as Zcash Open Major Grants.
The draft proposal reveals that ZCG currently holds 91,452.98 ZEC and approximately $8.8 million in USD-denominated assets, with $2.4 million in outstanding grant liabilities. Bowe noted that the existing 8% allocation model could generate over $68 million in ZEC annually, far exceeding the $1.53 million in ZCG expenses reported for the first quarter of 2026. If approved, the change would redirect the allocation to the NSM without increasing Zcash’s issued supply.
The 12% allocation to the Coinholder-Controlled Fund would remain unchanged, and ZCG would retain control of its existing assets to continue approving grants and meeting outstanding commitments. The proposal has no assigned activation height and is not included in the currently specified NU7 network upgrade, requiring a future network upgrade to take effect.
As of Tuesday, Zcash (ZEC) was trading at around $1,248, up 2% over the past 24 hours.