Information Density: Zcash Foundation – Signal Evidence & AI Readability

[H2] Advancing Digital Privacy

The Zcash Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity building financial privacy infrastructure for the public good, primarily serving users of the Zcash protocol and blockchain.

Donate

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[H2] Our Mission

To help sustain and improve open financial networks that allow anyone and everyone to protect their own privacy, on their own terms. While our primary focus is the Zcash protocol and blockchain, we also support broader applications of zero-knowledge proofs, as well as other approaches to financial privacy.

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Powering Zcash

[H2] What We Build

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[H3] Zebra

Zebra is the Foundation’s independent, consensus-compatible implementation of a Zcash node, currently under development. Zebra can be used to join the Zcash peer-to-peer network, which helps keep Zcash working by validating and broadcasting transactions, and maintaining the Zcash blockchain state in a distributed manner.

Get Involved

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[H3] FROST

for Zcash

FROST is a Flexible Round-Optimized Schnorr Threshold signature scheme designed to reduce the interaction between participants who jointly own a private signing key and wish to use this private key to sign a message. Recognized by industry leaders including Coinbase, FROST is a proposed IETF standard, on the path to adoption and standardization. ZF FROST is a reference implementation of FROST two-round threshold Schnorr signatures, written in Rust.

Get Involved

[H2] Events We Facilitate

We facilitate a variety of events designed to support collaboration, innovation, and education across the Zcash ecosystem.

[H3] Zcon

Zcon is the annual conference that focuses on privacy-preserving technologies and the broader Zcash community.

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[H3] Zcash Dev Summits

Provide developers with opportunities for informal collaboration and networking.

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[H3] Zcon Voices

Supports local initiatives to bring financial privacy to underserved communities.

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[H3] Zcash Arborist Calls

Bi-weekly protocol development meetings focused on tracking upcoming protocol deployment logistics, consensus node implementation issues, and protocol research.

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[H2] Committed to Transparency

Incorporation Documents

Financial Documents

Trademark Agreement

Quarterly Reports

Zcash Foundation Certificate and Accepted Articles

Zcash Foundation Form 1023

Zcash Foundation IRS Non-Profit Determination Letter

Zcash Foundation Bylaws

Bylaws Amendment 1

Bylaws Amendment 2

Bylaws Amendment 3

Bylaws Amendment 4

Zcash Foundation 2024 Audit

Zcash Foundation 2024 Form 990

Zcash Foundation 2023 Audit

Zcash Foundation 2023 Form 990

Zcash Foundation 2022 Audit

Zcash Foundation 2022 Form 990

Zcash Foundation 2021 Audit

Zcash Foundation 2021 Form 990

Zcash Foundation 2020 Audit

Zcash Foundation 2020 Form 990

Zcash Foundation 2019 Audit

Zcash Foundation 2019 Form 990

Zcash Foundation 2018 Audit

Zcash Foundation 2018 Form 990

Zcash Foundation 2017 Form 990

ZIP 1014

W-9

Trademark Donation and License Agreement

A bi-lateral agreement transferring responsibility, via a donation, for trademark registration, protection and enforcement from the Electric Coin Company to the Foundation.

We release quarterly reports that describe our income and expenditure, with a detailed breakdown of our expenses, and a snapshot of the Foundation’s financial position, in terms of liquid assets and liabilities that must be met using those assets. Quarterly reports are published to our blog.

Zcash Foundation Q4 2025 Report

Zcash Foundation Q3 2025 Report

Zcash Foundation Q2 2025 Report

Zcash Foundation Q1 2025 Report

Zcash Foundation Q4 2024 Report

Zcash Foundation Q3 2024 Report

Zcash Foundation Q2 2024 Report

Zcash Foundation Q1 2024 Report

Zcash Foundation Q4 2023 Report

Zcash Foundation Q3 2023 Report

Zcash Foundation Q2 2023 Report

Zcash Foundation Q1 2023 Report

Zcash Foundation Q4 2022 Report

Zcash Foundation Q3 2022 Report

Zcash Foundation Q2 2022 Report

Zcash Foundation Q1 2022 Report

Zcash Foundation Q4 2021 Report

Zcash Foundation Q3 2021 Report

Zcash Foundation Q2 2021 Report

Zcash Foundation Q1 2021 Report

The Zcash Foundation's 2020 State of the Foundation

Zcash Foundation Q2 2020 Report

Zcash Foundation Q1 2020 Report

The State of the Zcash Foundation in 2020

The State of the Zcash Foundation in 2019

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[H2] Our Team

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[H6] Alex Bornstein, CAMS, CCAS

Executive Director

Read biography

Alex has enjoyed a colorful 25 year career in the governmental and non-profit sectors, beginning with a domestic operations and supply chain focus and then progressing to international non-profit leadership. Alex has managed operations for a large fire district in Oregon, created a supply chain division for an international humanitarian aid organization active in over sixty countries, led operations for an innovative food bank with a state-wide footprint, and grown a youth focused non-profit into an impactful and well-regarded international organization.

Alex has enjoyed a colorful 25 year career in the governmental and non-profit sectors, beginning with a domestic operations and supply chain focus and then progressing to international non-profit leadership. Alex has managed operations for a large fire district in Oregon, created a supply chain division for an international humanitarian aid organization active in over sixty countries, led operations for an innovative food bank with a state-wide footprint, and grown a youth focused non-profit into an impactful and well-regarded international organization.

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[H6] Danika Delano, MA

Chief Operating Officer

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Team members have said “Danika is the glue that holds ZF together.” As a versatile leader, she seamlessly manages multiple roles from overseeing finances and HR, spearheading grant programs, and ensuring smooth operations and compliance at ZF. One of her most visible contributions is organizing Zcon, ZF’s annual conference, and other ZF events. With a Master’s degree in International Education and over a decade of experience in International Education and nonprofits, Danika brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her work. Having lived, traveled, and worked in over 40 countries, she is deeply committed to the belief that Zcash is a vital tool for equity and empowerment on a global scale. Danika takes great pride in being an integral part of the ZF community, dedicated to driving positive change around the world.

Alex has enjoyed a colorful 25 year career in the governmental and non-profit sectors, beginning with a domestic operations and supply chain focus and then progressing to international non-profit leadership. Alex has managed operations for a large fire district in Oregon, created a supply chain division for an international humanitarian aid organization active in over sixty countries, led operations for an innovative food bank with a state-wide footprint, and grown a youth focused non-profit into an impactful and well-regarded international organization.

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[H6] Pili Guerra

Head of Engineering

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Pili has 15 years of experience working in the tech industry as a software developer, solutions engineer, consultant and project manager. She has previously worked at the Tor Project as a Project Manager for the Tor Browser, Community and UX Teams. Before that she was at Red Hat, a leader in the open source world, working as a solution engineer.

Alex has enjoyed a colorful 25 year career in the governmental and non-profit sectors, beginning with a domestic operations and supply chain focus and then progressing to international non-profit leadership. Alex has managed operations for a large fire district in Oregon, created a supply chain division for an international humanitarian aid organization active in over sixty countries, led operations for an innovative food bank with a state-wide footprint, and grown a youth focused non-profit into an impactful and well-regarded international organization.

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[H6] Elise Hamdon, Ph.D.

Chief Communications Officer

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Elise is dedicated to advancing decentralized cryptocurrency privacy, education, and adoption. Her previous work includes empowering individuals to confidently manage their own security through advanced self-custody solutions and resilient multisig frameworks. As Executive Director of Mass Adoption Alliance, a public charity driving grassroots crypto education, she spearheaded the community-inspired My First Zcash workbook, making financial privacy and decentralization education accessible to learners of all ages.

Alex has enjoyed a colorful 25 year career in the governmental and non-profit sectors, beginning with a domestic operations and supply chain focus and then progressing to international non-profit leadership. Alex has managed operations for a large fire district in Oregon, created a supply chain division for an international humanitarian aid organization active in over sixty countries, led operations for an innovative food bank with a state-wide footprint, and grown a youth focused non-profit into an impactful and well-regarded international organization.

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[H6] Alfredo Garcia

Rust Systems Engineer

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Alfredo is a self-taught developer with over a decade of experience in the blockchain industry, and a long-standing advocate for open-source software. A committed cypherpunk, he gravitated toward the Zcash community, where he became a key architect and engineer behind the Zcash Foundation’s core backend, Zebra, and a contributor to the evolution of the Zcash protocol.

Alex has enjoyed a colorful 25 year career in the governmental and non-profit sectors, beginning with a domestic operations and supply chain focus and then progressing to international non-profit leadership. Alex has managed operations for a large fire district in Oregon, created a supply chain division for an international humanitarian aid organization active in over sixty countries, led operations for an innovative food bank with a state-wide footprint, and grown a youth focused non-profit into an impactful and well-regarded international organization.

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[H6] Arya Solhi

Core Engineer & Protocol Designer

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Arya has over three years of development experience with a variety of projects to his credit, including a CTO role for a restaurant contactless-ordering startup and solutions for different-sized companies in PropTech, FinTech, TeleHealth, and other domains. Arya is passionate about performance engineering, and excited for the future of cryptocurrency.

Alex has enjoyed a colorful 25 year career in the governmental and non-profit sectors, beginning with a domestic operations and supply chain focus and then progressing to international non-profit leadership. Alex has managed operations for a large fire district in Oregon, created a supply chain division for an international humanitarian aid organization active in over sixty countries, led operations for an innovative food bank with a state-wide footprint, and grown a youth focused non-profit into an impactful and well-regarded international organization.

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[H6] Conrado Gouvêa, Ph.D.

Cryptography Engineer & Protocol Designer

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Conrado is a cryptography engineer who carried out research into the efficient software implementation of cryptographic algorithms such as elliptic curves, pairings, and authenticated encryption during his Masters and PhD studies at the University of Campinas. Since then, he has been working for eight years in industry, developing software for cryptographic devices such as tokens and hardware security modules (HSMs).

Alex has enjoyed a colorful 25 year career in the governmental and non-profit sectors, beginning with a domestic operations and supply chain focus and then progressing to international non-profit leadership. Alex has managed operations for a large fire district in Oregon, created a supply chain division for an international humanitarian aid organization active in over sixty countries, led operations for an innovative food bank with a state-wide footprint, and grown a youth focused non-profit into an impactful and well-regarded international organization.

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[H6] Marek

Cryptography Engineer

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Before joining the Foundation, Marek earned a Master’s degree in Theoretical Computer Science and taught Undergraduate cryptography classes. Marek has also published research in algebraic cryptanalysis.

Alex has enjoyed a colorful 25 year career in the governmental and non-profit sectors, beginning with a domestic operations and supply chain focus and then progressing to international non-profit leadership. Alex has managed operations for a large fire district in Oregon, created a supply chain division for an international humanitarian aid organization active in over sixty countries, led operations for an innovative food bank with a state-wide footprint, and grown a youth focused non-profit into an impactful and well-regarded international organization.

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[H6] Natalie E

Cryptography Engineer

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Natalie has previously worked on the OTRv4 cryptographic messaging p

[H1] Zcash Protocol Agreements and Major Decisions

As a protocol, Zcash is governed by the Zcash Improvement Proposal process. The ZIP process provides an open venue and structure for collectively evaluating changes to Zcash.

[H2] Zcash Improvement Proposals

Anyone can submit a draft ZIP. Draft ZIPs are debated by the community at large, then accepted or rejected by the ZIP editors. Currently there are two ZIP editors — Daira Hopwood represents the Electric Coin Company and Deirdre Connolly represents the Zcash Foundation.
Decisions from the ZIP process are written into the Zcash specification, as well as the software that runs the network. The changes are “ratified” on-chain when the majority of the network adopts the upgrade and doesn’t break consensus.

[H2] Zcash Protocol Agreements and Major Decisions:

[H2] Review the Protocol Agreements

[H2] Title

[H2] Descriptions

Trademark Donation and License Agreement

A bi-lateral agreement transferring responsibility, via a donation, for trademark registration, protection and enforcement from the Electric Coin Company to the Foundation.

ZIP 1014

The Zcash Community created the Dev Fund in late 2020 as a means of funding ongoing development of the Zcash protocol by the Zcash Foundation (5% of the block reward), the Electric Coin Company (7%), and the Zcash Community Grants program (8%).

NU4 Agreement

The Canopy upgrade established the Dev Fund, and implemented several security improvements.

NU5 Agreement

Enables support for the Orchard shielded protocol and Unified Addresses.

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The original Zcash logo. Current logo available here.

[H2] 2018

The Zcash Foundation’s first governance process coincided with our inaugural conference in 2018. It was announced in April, further explained in June, and concluded later that month.General measures and board nominations were submitted and discussed on GitHub, where they are available to review. In July, the Foundation released a blog post detailing the governance results and our planned responses. Notably, Amber Baldet and Ian Miers were instated as new members of the Board of Directors.

[H2] Zcash Community Forum

The Zcash community forum is an open forum for Zcash users and enthusiasts, hosted by the Zcash Foundation. Forum members should strive to be kind, respectful, and interesting. Ideally, your presence in the community should improve the experience for everyone.

Join the Zcash Forum

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[H2] Our Work

[H1] Building for a private future

Donate

Zcash Foundation is at the forefront of cryptographic research and tooling, advancing the privacy capabilities of Zcash and the broader decentralized ecosystem. A key focus is zk-SNARKs, a zero-knowledge proof mechanism that allows transaction validation without revealing sensitive details such as sender, recipient, or amounts, setting new standards for confidentiality in blockchain technology.

Developer Tools and SDKs

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[H2] Our Projects

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[H4] Zebra

Our team developed Zebra, an independent Zcash node written in Rust, which strengthens network resilience by validating transactions and maintaining blockchain state in a modular and decentralized manner.
Learn More

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[H4] FROST for Zcash

Our engineers and researchers introduced FROST for Zcash, a Rust-based implementation of threshold Schnorr signatures that enables multisig-style transactions while preserving privacy through unlinkable and re-randomized signatures. These cryptographic advancements ensure robust security and privacy while fostering developer engagement through accessible libraries, tutorials, and tools.
Learn More

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[H4] Shielded Aid Initiative

The Shielded Aid Initiative (SAI) applies privacy-preserving technology to protect vulnerable communities in humanitarian aid delivery.
Learn More

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[H2] Zebra

We use decentralized computing and cutting-edge cryptography in the production of Zebra, our independent, consensus-compatible, modern, modular implementation of a Zcash node.

Download Zebra

Zebra Documentation

Zebra Board on Github

Contribute to Zebra

[H4] The Node

zcashd is the original Zcash node, developed by the Electric Coin Company as a fork of the original Bitcoin node. Zebra is an independent Zcash node implementation, developed from scratch, using memory-safe Rust language. Since zcashd and zebrad implement the same protocol, they are able to communicate with each other.

[H4] The Story

Zebra, the first Zcash node to be written entirely in Rust, can be used to join the Zcash peer-to-peer network. This helps to strengthen the resilience of the network by validating and broadcasting transactions, and maintaining the Zcash blockchain state in a more distributed manner.

Learn More

[H4] The Solution

Alternative node implementations help developers quickly detect implementation-specific bugs that could cause consensus-related issues. Multiple node implementations also attract a broader audience of developers to Zcash. Our implementation of zcashd allows Rust developers to easily start developing on and contributing to Zcash.

With Zebra, users and developers have a new avenue to engage with the Zcash ecosystem. Read the documentation in the Zebra repo as it continues to update and new features are added by the Zcash Foundation.

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[H3] What Makes Zebra Stand Out

[H2] Better Performance

Since it was implemented from scratch in an async, parallelized way, Zebra is currently faster than zcashd.

[H2] Better Governance

With a new node deployment, there will be more developers who can implement different features for the Zcash network.

[H2] Runtime Safety

With an independent implementation, the detection of consensus bugs can happen quicker, reducing the risk of consensus splits.

[H2] Spec Safety

With several node implementations, it is much easier to notice bugs and ambiguity in protocol specification.

[H2] Better Security

Since it is developed in a memory-safe language (Rust), it is less likely to be affected by memory-safety security bugs that could compromise the environment where it is run.

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[H2] FROST for Zcash

Flexible Round-Optimized Schnorr Threshold (FROST) is a threshold signature scheme that essentially reduces network overhead during signing operations – while employing novel techniques to protect against forgery attacks applicable to similar schemes.

RFC 9591

FROST PAPER

IRTF DRAFT

Contribute to FROST

[H4] The Operation

FROST improves upon the state of the art in Schnorr threshold signature protocols, as it can be safely used without limiting concurrency of signing operations – yet allows for true threshold signing, as only a threshold number of participants are required for signing operations. It can be used as either a two-round protocol where signers send and receive two messages in total, or optimized to a single-round signing protocol with a pre-processing stage.

[H4] The Secret

It achieves its efficiency improvements in part by allowing the protocol to abort in the presence of a misbehaving participant (who is then identified and excluded from future operations)—a reasonable model for practical deployment scenarios.

Signatures produced by FROST for Zcash are privacy-preserving; they do not leak metadata about the set of signers or number of signers.

[H3] What Sets It Apart

[H2] Metadata-free

Signatures produced by FROST do not leak any metadata, such as what the threshold number of signatures is, or how many or which of the keys participated in generating a signature.

[H2] RedDSA Compatible

Makes it easier to integrate into Zcash systems and applications that already exist, without requiring significant modifications to the existing infrastructure.

[H2] Unlinkability

Keeps the same security guarantees of RedDSA, which prevents attackers from linking two FROST-generated signatures to the same person.

[H2] Easy Developer Experience

ZF libraries allow anyone to easily integrate ZF FROST into their project. ZF also creates demo applications and tutorials to make it even easier for developers to use FROST.

[H2] Secure

Is compatible with unlikable re-randomized signatures, as required by the Zcash protocol.

[H2] Shielded Multising

Currently the only way to do multisig style signatures for shielded transactions in Zcash.

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[H2] Ready to dive deeper?

Contribute to Zebra

Contribute to FROST