What is Zebec Protocol (ZBC)?

Quick Facts

  • Blockchain: Solana (original deployment)
  • Launched: November 2021 on Solana mainnet
  • Founder: Sam Thapaliya
  • Core feature: Real-time, programmable money streaming
  • Funding: ~$28 million raised from Solana Ventures, Coinbase, Circle, and Lightspeed
  • Token utility: Governance, developer incentives, protocol fee burning
  • Migration: ZBC transitioned to ZBCN at a 1:10 ratio in 2024

Introduction

Zebec Protocol is a continuous settlement and money streaming platform built on the Solana blockchain. Rather than waiting for traditional payment cycles, Zebec enables value to flow in real time — second by second — directly between parties.

Its native token, ZBC, powers governance, incentivizes developers, and supports the broader protocol economy.

History & Background

Zebec Protocol was founded by Sam Thapaliya, a computer scientist with a background in machine learning and decentralized systems. The protocol launched on the Solana mainnet in November 2021, positioning itself as the first programmable cash flow protocol on Solana.

The project raised approximately $28 million across private and public token sales, backed by prominent investors including Solana Ventures, Coinbase, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. In 2024, ZBC was migrated to a new token, ZBCN, at a 1:10 ratio to support an expanded multi-chain and DePIN-focused vision.

How Zebec Protocol Works

At its core, Zebec uses smart contracts to create a 'stream' — a directional flow of funds between a sender and a receiver. Tokens are held in the protocol's smart contracts, and the stream balance adjusts continuously until funds are depleted or the user stops the stream.

Solana's high throughput and low latency make it well-suited for this model, allowing thousands of simultaneous payment streams without congestion. Users can pause, cancel, or resume any stream nearly instantly, providing full control over fund flows.

Tokenomics

The ZBC token serves multiple roles within the Zebec ecosystem. It is used for on-chain governance, allowing holders to propose and vote on protocol upgrades and fee structure changes. ZBC also supports developer incentivization programs and is subject to periodic token burning as part of the protocol's revenue management design.

The token's economic model is designed to align long-term incentives between the Zebec team, developers, and the broader user community.

Circulating Supply ? 326.90 million ZBC
Total supply ? 326.90 million ZBC
Max supply ? -- ZBC
Updated 12h ago

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Zebec offers a suite of products built around its streaming infrastructure:

  • Zebec Payroll — Allows employers to stream salaries in real time, paid out in stablecoins like USDC.
  • Zebec Safe — A multi-signature treasury management tool for DAOs and teams to manage shared funds securely.
  • Zebec Card — A debit card connected to streaming wallets, enabling users to spend streamed balances at merchants using Visa infrastructure.
  • DCA & Yield Tools — Automated dollar-cost averaging and yield farming integrations for on-chain investing.

Team, Governance & Community

Zebec uses a hybrid governance model combining on-chain voting with off-chain deliberation. Governance runs on the Solana Governance Realms platform. Token holders can submit proposals and vote on changes, with quorum requirements ensuring broad participation before changes take effect.

The community is active across Discord, Telegram, and Twitter, with ongoing developer engagement and ecosystem fund initiatives.

Advantages

  • Real-time payments eliminate delays from traditional payroll and settlement cycles.
  • Low fees thanks to Solana's efficient infrastructure.
  • Flexible streaming controls — streams can be paused, cancelled, or resumed instantly.
  • Broad product suite covering payroll, treasury management, and spending.
  • Strong early backers including Solana Ventures, Coinbase, and Circle.

Risks & Challenges

  • Token migration from ZBC to ZBCN may affect liquidity and legacy ZBC holder dynamics.
  • Niche adoption — streaming payments remain a relatively small market segment.
  • Smart contract risk — early versions of the multisig code lacked formal audits.
  • Competition from other DeFi payment and payroll protocols on multiple chains.
  • Solana dependency — protocol performance is tied to Solana's network stability.

Long-Term Vision

Zebec Protocol's long-term ambition is to become a foundational layer for programmable financial flows — spanning payroll, subscriptions, treasury operations, and cross-border payments. The project has evolved toward a broader decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) vision, seeking to bridge on-chain streaming technology with real-world enterprise payment rails and institutional finance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Zebec Protocol is a Solana-based platform that enables real-time, programmable money streaming for payments, payroll, and DeFi applications. It allows funds to flow continuously between parties, second by second, rather than in traditional lump-sum payments.

ZBC is the original native token of Zebec Protocol, used for governance voting, developer incentivization, and protocol fee management including token burning. Holders can participate in on-chain governance to shape protocol decisions.

In 2024, Zebec Protocol migrated from ZBC to a new token called ZBCN at a 1:10 ratio. ZBC tokens were burned and ZBCN was issued proportionally to support the project's expanded multi-chain and DePIN ambitions.

Zebec offers Zebec Payroll for streaming salaries in real time, Zebec Safe for multi-signature treasury management, and a Zebec Card linked to Visa infrastructure for spending streamed balances. It also provides DCA and yield farming tools.

Zebec Protocol was founded by Sam Thapaliya, a computer scientist with expertise in machine learning, data infrastructure, and decentralized systems. The protocol launched on the Solana mainnet in November 2021.

Zebec raised approximately $28 million from notable backers including Solana Ventures, Coinbase, Circle, and Lightspeed Venture Partners across its private and public token sales.

Funds are deposited into Zebec's smart contracts and a stream balance is created between sender and receiver. The balance adjusts continuously until the stream ends or the user manually pauses or cancels it, giving full real-time control.

Key risks include the impact of the ZBC-to-ZBCN token migration on legacy holders, early versions of the multisig feature lacking formal security audits, and reliance on Solana's network performance for uninterrupted streaming.