Zcash Grants Group Proposes Redirecting $124 Million to Future Block Rewards

Zcash Community Grants (ZCG), the committee that funds Zcash (ZEC) development, proposed on October 29, 2026 to redirect about 98,000 ZEC, worth roughly $124 million, away from its own funding and toward future block rewards. The plan drew quick criticism from industry figures who want the committee to answer to ZEC holders first.

How the Plan Would Work

ZCG laid out the plan in a community forum post titled "ZCG gets too much ZEC. Here's our plan to fix that." The committee holds a treasury of roughly 91,500 ZEC. Under the proposal, it would transfer 36,200 ZEC to the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM), the part of the protocol that reserves coins for future mining rewards, and keep about 55,200 ZEC, worth about $70 million at the time of writing.

ZCG also proposed forgoing about 62,000 ZEC, about $78.5 million, in future allocations and tapering its remaining funding until the 2032 halving. Together, the steps would redirect about 98,000 ZEC toward future block rewards. Under the current arrangement, ZCG's automatic allocation ends in 2028. The alternative would extend reduced funding for another four years. ZCG said the plan was preliminary and that a full proposal would follow for community consideration.

The Backlash

Helius co-founder and CEO Mert Mumtaz called the proposal "nowhere near good enough," arguing the treasury is already too large and that funding decisions should be accountable to ZEC holders. Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss also questioned the committee's accountability, saying that a member who unfollowed Mumtaz on X made themselves unqualified to oversee funds of that size.

The criticism follows an earlier proposal from Zcash co-founder Sean Bowe to end ZCG's automatic 8% share of newly issued ZEC and redirect it to the NSM while leaving the existing treasury untouched. ZCG's plan is its own compromise: shrink the treasury now and accept a smaller share later.

Price and Context

ZEC traded near $1,251 on November 1, 2026, according to Coinranking data, ranking it among the ten largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation. Zcash is one of the largest privacy coins in crypto, running its own layer 1 blockchain with proof-of-work mining. The proposal matters for miners and holders alike, because coins sent to the NSM are reserved for future block rewards rather than spent by a committee.

What Happens Next

ZCG said a full proposal would follow for community consideration, so the numbers can still change. The debate now is about governance as much as about the coins: critics want any deal on treasury size to come with clear accountability to ZEC holders, while ZCG argues its plan already gives back most of what it receives.