Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly, has called for Zcash (ZEC) to shut down its development fund when its current term expires in 2028.
In a post on X, Qureshi argued that the fund should support the final stages of protocol development before transitioning to a model similar to Bitcoin, where development relies on voluntary contributions.
Qureshi warned that the fund has grown to approximately $95 million, holding around 63,962 ZEC, following the token’s recent price rally. He believes crossing the $100 million threshold could increase political influence over grant allocations and create governance challenges.
On the $ZEC Dev Fund debate:
The Zcash community has decided its identity is “encrypted Bitcoin.” It has rejected adding more bells and whistles to the protocol. To become encrypted Bitcoin, Zcash must become a dependable store of value, and that means eventually ossifying.
But…
— Haseeb Qureshi ＞|＜ (@hosseeb) September 17, 2026
He supports keeping the fund for another one to two years to complete key upgrades, including Tachyon, quantum resistance and formal verification, before phasing it out.
Crypto community divided over Zcash funding
Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang disagreed with Qureshi, arguing that continuous development funding remains important as AI-driven cyber threats and quantum computing risks evolve.
Meanwhile, Winklevoss Capital analyst Maxime Desalle called for the fund’s complete elimination, arguing that permanent developer funding could create bureaucratic structures and ongoing governance disputes.
The debate also grew to include questions about who should control grant allocations and how the Zcash Community Grants (ZCG) committee is elected. Tom Howard argued that ZCG’s current election structure creates a potential conflict of interest because grant recipients can participate in electing the committee responsible for distributing funding.
Austin Federa supported the need for governance reform but expressed reservations about token-weighted voting. He argued that a representative model, similar to the US system, could offer a middle ground by allowing coinholders to elect decision-makers periodically. The debate highlights differing views on how Zcash should fund future development while maintaining protocol security and predictable governance.
What other crypto governance models reveal about Zcash’s voting debate
Zcash is not the only crypto project trying to figure out how much power tokenholders should have. Ethereum, Polkadot and Uniswap have taken different approaches, each showing the trade-offs between community voting, technical expertise and treasury control.
Unlike Zcash, Ethereum relies on an informal governance process in which developers, researchers and ecosystem participants discuss proposed changes through Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). ETH holders do not directly vote on protocol upgrades, with decisions ultimately requiring coordination among network participants.
Polkadot uses a different approach through its OpenGov system, which allows DOT holders to submit and vote on referenda. The model demonstrates how blockchain projects can distribute decision-making authority among tokenholders rather than relying solely on appointed committees. However, token-based voting can create concerns about the concentration of influence among large holders.
The governance debate also involves how projects manage treasury funds and maintain accountability. Uniswap, for example, operates a DAO through which UNI holders participate in decisions affecting the protocol. These different approaches show that crypto projects continue to experiment with balancing community participation, technical expertise and effective decision-making.
However, token-based voting can create its own risks. In 2022, Build Finance DAO experienced a hostile takeover after an individual accumulated enough voting power to pass a proposal affecting the project’s treasury. In July, BonkDAO lost about $21.2 million worth of BONK tokens after a trader used the project’s governance system to approve a proposal that transferred treasury funds to a wallet under their control.
Enjoyed this? Bookmark DeFi Planet, explore related topics, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and CoinMarketCap Community for seamless access to high-quality industry insights
Take control of your crypto portfolio with DEFI PLANET PRO, DeFi Planet’s suite of analytics tools.
