Pretty Good Policy for Zcash, a newly formed independent 501(c)(4) organization, is requesting $750,000 from Zcash Community Grants to fund its first year of operations focused on policy advocacy and education.
The organization emerged from work led by Paul Brigner, chief policy and regulatory officer at Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL), who has spent years building relationships with policymakers on financial privacy and digital assets. The grant proposal, submitted to Zcash Community Grants, positions PGPZ as a dedicated policy capacity for the Zcash ecosystem separate from ZODL's technical operations.
Brigner's policy work began informally with conversations and briefings that grew into recurring meetings and a network of relationships across Washington. As Zcash became increasingly central to those discussions, the need for standalone advocacy infrastructure became apparent, according to the announcement. PGPZ will handle policy education, coordination, and advocacy on behalf of the ecosystem.
Zcash Community Grants, the protocol's primary funding mechanism, distributes grants to developers and ecosystem contributors. The $750,000 request represents a single-year commitment from a fund that has historically received contributions from the Zcash protocol's block rewards. PGPZ's status as a 501(c)(4) allows it to engage in direct lobbying, a category of nonprofit activity distinct from the educational work that 501(c)(3) organizations can perform.
The formation of PGPZ follows a broader trend of crypto protocols establishing dedicated Washington presence. Solana, Ethereum, and other major projects have funded policy shops or hired full-time regulatory affairs staff. Privacy-focused protocols face particular regulatory scrutiny; Zcash's shielded transactions have drawn attention from law enforcement and financial regulators globally.
The timing aligns with renewed congressional interest in digital asset regulation and privacy standards. Zcash's advocacy needs extend beyond U.S. policymakers to include international bodies developing financial crime guidance that could affect privacy-preserving technologies.
PGPZ's $750,000 annual request equals roughly 0.1 percent of Zcash's market capitalization as of early 2025, though the grant's approval depends on Zcash Community Grants voters. The organization must now build sufficient support within the Zcash governance community to secure funding.
If PGPZ does not receive approval from Zcash Community Grants within the next funding cycle, the organization will need to identify alternative funding sources or scale back its first-year operations.
