Zcash Vote Deadline Looms: Eligibility and Participation Rules

The Zcash vote is ongoing, and eligible participants have until 14 September at 19:00 UTC to cast their ballots. To be eligible, an individual must have held spendable shielded ZEC in the Ironwood pool of a wallet on their own as of August 24, 2026, at around 19:00 UTC. This means that anyone who had nothing in the Ironwood pool at this time cannot participate, regardless of how much Zcash they buy before the voting window closes.

However, there is some good news for those who were eligible on the cut-off date. If an individual moved their funds after the snapshot without losing the right to vote, and then sold or reallocated them afterwards, their original eligibility still stands.

The voting process requires self-custody of ZEC, meaning that individuals must withdraw their coins from custodial accounts and put them in a wallet whose keys they control themselves. This is because exchanges hold private keys for customers' ZEC, rendering it ineligible for the vote.