Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly, has proposed that the Zcash development fund should not be renewed after its current term expires in 2028. Qureshi argues that the existing capital is sufficient to support future development and warns that the fund risks becoming politicized as its valuation approaches $100 million.
Data from ZecStats indicates that the fund currently holds 63,962 ZEC tokens, valued at approximately $95 million. The fund is financed by a protocol mechanism that collects 0.1875 ZEC per block, which accounts for 12% of the block subsidy following the NU6 upgrade. These assets remain outside of circulation until they are disbursed through governance.
The proposal has sparked debate within the industry regarding the future of the fund and its governance structure. While Paradigm founder Matt Huang advocates for maintaining the fund to address security challenges related to AI and quantum computing, others suggest alternative approaches. Some propose a hybrid governance model involving elected councils rather than pure token holder voting.
Maxime Desalle of Winklevoss Capital has suggested the complete elimination of the development fund to resolve governance disputes and prevent bureaucratic dependencies. Conversely, Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox has defended the role of the Zcash Community Grants Committee, noting that it manages 40% of the development fund and has been instrumental in the project's growth.
