Key facts
- Dragonfly's Haseeb Qureshi proposed ending the Zcash developer fund after its current rules expire in 2028.
- The Zcash development fund holds 63,962 ZEC tokens, valued at about $95 million.
- Qureshi argued the fund is large enough for remaining work and risks politicization.
- Paradigm founder Matt Huang believes the fund is important given AI and quantum computing advancements.
- Maxime Desalle suggested completely removing the development fund to resolve governance disputes.
- Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox credited the Zcash Community Grants Committee for the network's growth.
Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly, has proposed concluding the Zcash developer fund once its current mandate expires in 2028. Qureshi stated in an X post that the fund, which holds approximately $95 million worth of ZEC tokens, is sufficiently large to cover remaining development work and risks becoming politicized as its value approaches $100 million.
The Zcash development fund currently holds 63,962 ZEC tokens. Its value has increased significantly due to a recent rally in the ZEC token price, sparking broader industry discussions about its future. The fund accrues 0.1875 ZEC per block, representing 12% of the block subsidy under the NU6 upgrade, and its balance is held outside of circulation until disbursed through governance.
Discussions also extend to who should control the fund. Qureshi suggested that control should not solely rest with token holders but supported a hybrid model involving temporary elected councils. Paradigm founder Matt Huang echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the fund's importance in the current landscape of AI and quantum computing advancements, and warned that pure token holder governance could introduce unpredictability. Maxime Desalle, an investment analyst at Winklevoss Capital, proposed a complete elimination of the development fund to resolve governance disputes, arguing it could negatively impact Zcash's security and create bureaucratic dependencies.
Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox previously highlighted the Zcash Community Grants Committee as a key factor in the network's survival and growth, though he later clarified that this committee manages only 40% of the development fund.