The fight over Zcash’s development funding has intensified after Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi called for the existing Dev Fund to expire in 2028 under current rules. Qureshi argued the fund’s balance of 63,962 ZEC, worth roughly $95 million, is enough to complete remaining protocol work. The fund currently receives 0.1875 ZEC per block, equal to 12% of the block subsidy under NU6, and its balance remains outside circulation until governance approves distributions.
Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang has defended inflation-funded support for public goods, warning of technical challenges such as quantum resistance and AI-related security risks. However, Huang also voiced concerns about pure coin voting, saying unpredictable votes could shake confidence in Zcash as money. Maxime Desalle takes the opposite position, arguing that protocol subsidies divert rewards from miners, weaken incentives for alternative financing and encourage bureaucracy. He pointed to privately financed projects including the Zcash Open Development Lab as evidence that outside capital can support ecosystem development without recurring protocol funding. Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox defended the grants system’s historical role and noted the Zcash Community Grants Committee controls only 40% of the broader development fund.
The dispute also encompasses governance. Qureshi rejects pure tokenholder voting and favors a representative model with elected, temporary decision-makers. The debate over Zcash’s identity as an “encrypted Bitcoin” is central: Qureshi says a dependable store of value must eventually ossify rather than continually expand protocol ambitions. Meanwhile, developers are preparing NU7, targeting mainnet activation on November 5 after an October 6 testnet and October 20 final decision. The upgrade would cut target block spacing from 75 seconds to 25 seconds while preserving the halving schedule, with holders strongly supporting faster blocks and the existing halving schedule.
