The Coinholder-Directed Retroactive Grants Program funds completed work that has delivered verifiable value to the Zcash ecosystem.
It draws from the Coinholder-Controlled Fund (12% of block rewards + Deferred Dev Fund Lockbox seed), established by ZIP 1016 and activated in NU6.1 (November 2025).
The program runs quarterly until the 3rd halving (~2028). Funds are held in multisig by Key-Holder Organizations (e.g., Shielded Labs, FPF).
Grants are retroactive only - rewarding past contributions (e.g., development, integrations, community building). Prospective work should apply to Zcash Community Grants (ZCG, 8% of rewards).
Focus:
Completed, publicly verifiable work benefiting Zcash (privacy, adoption, tooling, security).
Criteria (coinholders evaluate):
No restrictions:
Anyone (individuals, teams, organizations) can apply or be nominated.
Competing proposals:
Voted separately; highest ZEC support wins.
Veto possible:
By Key-Holders for legal issues or harm to users/community (rare, with rationale).
Prepare Proposal:
Submit:
Deadline:
Engage:
Respond to community questions during 30-day review.
Quarterly Cadence (e.g., Q4 2025, Q1 2026):
Submission Deadline:
Mid-quarter (announced).
30-Day Review:
Starts post-deadline; discuss/feedback in forum threads (summary thread often created).
Voting Period:
Follows review (e.g., ~1-2 weeks in November for Q4).
Results & Disbursement:
Soon after; approved grants paid per terms (KYC for >$50k).
Voting:
Check the Zcash Community Forum Grants Section . Process may evolve with community feedback.
