The Zcash Foundation ended the first quarter of 2026 with about $36.69 million in liquid assets, reflecting a cautious approach to spending at a time when many crypto organizations are expanding their budgets.
As per the report, the nonprofit held roughly $21 million worth of ZEC, along with $12.6 million in cash and USDC. It also maintained smaller holdings in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Operating expenses for the quarter came to about $817,000, with employee compensation accounting for the biggest share of costs.
The disclosure comes as crypto foundations face increasing scrutiny over how they manage their treasuries and fund long-term operations. While some major blockchain projects boosted spending on grants, incentives, and marketing, the Zcash Foundation kept its quarterly expenses below $1 million.
Lean spending model draws attention
The report also stood out against spending trends across several major blockchain organizations. Earlier this year, the Uniswap Foundation set aside more than $106 million for grants and ecosystem incentives through 2027. The organization also allocated another $26.3 million for operations and employee-related token awards.
Last year, Charles Hoskinson proposed using $100 million worth of ADA from the Cardano Foundation treasury to support decentralized finance growth. Meanwhile, the Polkadot Foundation faced criticism after disclosing roughly $37 million in spending tied to promotions and marketing during 2024.
However, the Zcash ecosystem operates differently from many rival blockchain projects. Several independent organizations help support development rather than a single controlling entity. Besides the Zcash Foundation, the ecosystem also includes Bootstrap and Shielded Labs, the Winklevoss-backed Swiss group focused on privacy-focused blockchain infrastructure.
ECC fallout reshapes development
Electric Coin Company, one of the main organizations behind Zcash, underwent major changes earlier this year after its entire development team resigned amid internal governance disputes. Several former employees later launched Zcash Open Development Lab, a new for-profit company that raised $25 million from venture capital firms and angel investors.
Zcash Foundation Executive Director Alex Bornstein said disagreements over governance at Electric Coin Company contributed to the departures. “Governance disputes within Electric Coin Company led to the departure of much of its development team,” Bornstein said, adding that no single organization controls the Zcash network.
Despite the leadership shake-up, the Zcash Foundation continued work on several technical upgrades during the quarter. Developers released the Zebra 4.0 update, expanded development of the FROST cryptographic system, advanced the Z3 technology stack, and continued governance polling efforts tied to the network’s upcoming NU7 upgrade.
Regulatory pressure on the privacy-focused cryptocurrency also eased after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission closed its investigation into the Zcash Foundation in January.
Launched in 2016, Zcash is designed to offer users stronger transaction privacy than many other cryptocurrencies. Interest in the token has recently increased as some crypto users seek additional privacy features. As of writing, CoinMarketCap data show ZEC rose about 3.4% following the quarterly report, briefly trading above $580.
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