Momentum

Zcash

bullish

Rewards

<ul>
 <li><strong>ZEC’s daily RSI rose above 50, while a bullish MACD crossover signaled improving momentum.</strong></li>
 <li><strong>Sean Bowe proposed redirecting the 8% Community Grants allocation into a long-term security reserve.</strong></li>
 <li><strong>The existing development treasury could reduce the need for continued grants funding, although its value fluctuates with ZEC.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Zcash developers are debating a major change to the cryptocurrency’s funding model as ZEC recovers from its October correction. A proposal from co-founder Sean Bowe would redirect future community-grant rewards into a reserve intended to support network security after the current funding period.</p>
<p>The proposal follows <strong><a href="https://www.grayscale.com/the-stack/how-zcash-keeps-innovating" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Grayscale’s October 26 research note</a></strong>, which examined how Zcash has financed privacy technology throughout its first decade.</p>
<h2 id="zcash-price-recovers-as-technical-momentum-strengthens">Zcash Price Recovers as Technical Momentum Strengthens</h2>
<p>ZEC has recovered from its October lows following a sharp rally in September that pushed the cryptocurrency above $1,600. The subsequent correction brought prices toward $1,100 before trading conditions began to stabilize.</p>
<p>At the time of writing ZEC trades at $1,261.49, gaining 2.48% during the active daily session. The cryptocurrency recorded an intraday high of $1,275.39 and a low of $1,211.00, <strong><a href="https://www.tradingview.com/chart/Ds9qR56x/?symbol=COINBASE%3AZECUSD" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">according to Coinbase data displayed on TradingView</a></strong>.</p>
<figure style="width: 100%" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://ethnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ZECUSD_2026-10-27_15-28-58-1024x798.webp" alt="Zcash (ZEC/USD) daily candlestick chart on Coinbase showing price consolidation following a September rally, with RSI (14) and MACD indicators signaling improving momentum." width="696" height="542">
 <figcaption>
  Zcash daily chart showing stabilizing price action and early signs of a bullish momentum shift. Chart by Alexander Zdravkov, TradingView.
 </figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Recent daily candles indicate that selling pressure has eased, with ZEC recovering part of its earlier losses. However, the rebound remains modest compared with the September advance, and the price has yet to establish a sustained upward trend.</p>
<p>Momentum indicators provide additional evidence of improving conditions.</p>
<p>The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) reached 51.93, exceeding its moving average of 46.92. The reading places ZEC slightly above the neutral threshold of 50, suggesting that buying momentum has strengthened without entering overbought territory.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator registered a bullish crossover. The MACD line stood at -13.66, above the signal line at -21.10, while the histogram turned positive at 7.45.</p>
<p>Despite the crossover, both lines remained below zero, indicating that the recovery was still developing rather than confirming a broader bullish reversal.</p>
<p>The combination of a recovering RSI and improving MACD histogram suggests that downward momentum has weakened. Further price gains accompanied by sustained positive momentum readings would strengthen the recovery outlook, while renewed selling could challenge the recent stabilization.</p>
<h2 id="bowe-proposes-redirecting-8-of-block-rewards">Bowe Proposes Redirecting 8% of Block Rewards</h2>
<p><strong><a href="https://zips.z.cash/zip-1016? target=" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Under ZIP 1016</a></strong>, Zcash distributes 80% of newly issued block rewards to miners, 8% to Zcash Community Grants (ZCG), and 12% to coinholder-directed funding.</p>
<p>Bowe’s October 27 draft proposal would eliminate the ongoing ZCG allocation and direct that 8% into the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM).</p>
<p>The NSM is designed to accumulate ZEC for future mining rewards rather than distribute those coins immediately. The proposed reserves would remain locked until February 2031, when they could begin supporting network security under the mechanism’s rules.</p>
<p>The change would not increase Zcash’s maximum supply of 21 million coins or immediately raise miners’ existing 80% allocation.</p>
<h2 id="proposed-changes-to-zcash-s-issuance-structure">Proposed Changes to Zcash’s Issuance Structure</h2>
<div style="width: 100%; max-width: 760px; margin: 24px auto; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: #243748; box-sizing: border-box;">
 <div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 13px; border-left: 3px solid #426d89;">
  <div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 1.2px; text-transform: uppercase; color: #718697;">
   Zcash | Tokenomics Comparison
  </div>
  <div style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.3; margin-top: 5px;">
   Where Future Block Rewards Would Go
  </div>
  <div style="font-size: 12px; color: #728493; margin-top: 6px; line-height: 1.5;">
   Current ZIP 1016 allocation versus Sean Bowe’s draft proposal
  </div>
 </div>
 <div style="overflow-x: auto; -webkit-overflow-scrolling: touch; border: 1px solid #dce5eb; border-radius: 10px;">
  <table style="width: 100%; min-width: 520px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">
   <thead>
    <tr style="background: #243e52; color: #fff;">
     <th style="padding: 13px 12px; font-weight: 600;">Allocation</th>
     <th style="padding: 13px 8px; text-align: center; font-weight: 600;">Current</th>
     <th style="padding: 13px 8px; text-align: center; font-weight: 600;">Proposed</th>
     <th style="padding: 13px 12px; font-weight: 600;">Purpose / Horizon</th>
    </tr>
   </thead>
   <tbody>
    <tr style="background: #fff; border-bottom: 1px solid #e7edf1;">
     <td style="padding: 13px 12px; font-weight: 600;">Miners</td>
     <td style="padding: 13px 8px; text-align: center;">80%</td>
     <td style="padding: 13px 8px; text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">80%</td>
     <td style="padding: 13px 12px; color: #687b8a;">Unchanged security rewards</td>
    </tr>
    <tr style="background: #f5f8fa; border-bottom: 1px solid #e7edf1;">
     <td style="padding: 13px 12px; font-weight: 600;">Community Grants</td>
     <td style="padding: 13px 8px; text-align: center;">8%</td>
     <td style="padding: 13px 8px; text-align: center; font-weight: bold; color: #a5524a;">0%</td>
     <td style="padding: 13px 12px; color: #687b8a;">New allocation discontinued</td>
    </tr>
    <tr style="background: #fff; border-bottom: 1px solid #e7edf1;">
     <td style="padding: 13px 12px; font-weight: 600;">Coinholder Grants</td>
     <td style="padding: 13px 8px; text-align: center;">12%</td>
     <td style="padding: 13px 8px; text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">12%</td>
     <td style="padding: 13px 12px; color: #687b8a;">Unchanged community funding</td>
    </tr>
    <tr style="background: #eaf2f7; border-bottom: 1px solid #d4e1e9;">
     <td style="padding: 13px 12px; font-weight: bold;">NSM Reserve</td>
     <td style="padding: 13px 8px; text-align: center;">0%</td>
     <td style="padding: 13px 8px; text-align: center; font-weight: 800; color: #315f7d;">8%</td>
     <td style="padding: 13px 12px; color: #315f7d; font-weight: 600;">Locked until Feb. 2031</td>
    </tr>
   </tbody>
   <tfoot>
    <tr style="background: #e2eaf0;">
     <td style="padding: 12px; font-weight: 800;">Total</td>
     <td style="padding: 12px 8px; text-align: center; font-weight: 800;">100%</td>
     <td style="padding: 12px 8px; text-align: center; font-weight: 800;">100%</td>
     <td style="padding: 12px; color: #637989;">Proposed, not activated</td>
    </tr>
   </tfoot>
  </table>
 </div>
</div>
<p>The proposal remains subject to review and approval. Its implementation would require the necessary consensus changes.</p>
<h2 id="treasury-valuation-highlights-zec-price-exposure">Treasury Valuation Highlights ZEC Price Exposure</h2>
<p>Bowe cited the size of ZCG’s existing treasury as a reason to reconsider ongoing funding.</p>
<p>The proposal references approximately 91,452.98 ZEC and $8.80 million in dollar-denominated assets, offset by about $2.42 million in outstanding grant liabilities.</p>
<p>Using an assumed ZEC price of $1,300, the estimated net treasury value reaches approximately $125.3 million.</p>
<p>At the October 27 market snapshot of $1,261.49, the same holdings would be worth roughly $121.8 million, assuming no changes in balances or liabilities.</p>
<p>The calculation illustrates the treasury’s sensitivity to cryptocurrency prices. A prolonged downturn could reduce its ability to finance research even without additional spending.</p>
<p>The proposed redirection would allow ZCG to continue using previously accumulated resources while shifting new issuance toward future mining incentives.</p>
<h2 id="ironwood-demonstrates-the-cost-of-privacy-security">Ironwood Demonstrates the Cost of Privacy Security</h2>
<p>Zcash’s development history provides a practical argument for maintaining technical research funding.</p>
<p>In May, researcher Taylor Hornby discovered a critical flaw in Orchard, Zcash’s shielded transaction system, that could potentially have allowed counterfeit ZEC to be created without publicly visible evidence.</p>
<p>Developers introduced emergency safeguards before activating the Ironwood upgrade on July 28 at block height 3,428,143, under NU6.3.</p>
<p>Ironwood introduced a corrected shielded pool and a turnstile mechanism restricting withdrawals from Orchard according to verifiable deposits. The upgrade also incorporated formally verified cryptographic properties to strengthen supply-integrity assurances.</p>
<p>These protections address specific weaknesses rather than guarantee that every component of the network is free from future vulnerabilities.</p>
<p>Grayscale’s research also highlights quantum-recoverable features, which provide potential recovery options against future cryptographic threats but do not constitute comprehensive quantum resistance.</p>
<h2 id="adoption-and-governance-remain-the-next-tests">Adoption and Governance Remain the Next Tests</h2>
<p>Earlier in October, Grayscale researcher Michael Zhao reported that approximately 29% of mined ZEC was held in shielded pools.</p>
<p>That measures private holdings, not the frequency of shielded payments. Migration into Ironwood, wallet compatibility and transaction activity provide more detailed evidence of whether the upgraded infrastructure is being adopted.</p>
<p>For coinholders, Bowe’s proposal presents a separate test of capital allocation. Ending the ZCG subsidy would conserve future issuance for network security, while increasing reliance on the existing treasury to finance development.</p>
<p>The draft’s approval process and reserve distribution rules will determine whether that trade-off becomes part of Zcash’s economic model.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <strong><a href="https://ethnews.com/zcash-price-hits-1200-after-37-weekly-rally/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ZEC’s ability to hold $1,200</a></strong> and reclaim the $1,275–$1,300 resistance range will help establish whether October’s momentum recovery can extend into November.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://ethnews.com/zcash-price-rebounds-as-new-proposal-challenges-mining-rewards/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Zcash Price Rebounds as New Proposal Challenges Mining Rewards</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ethnews.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ETHNews</a>.</p>

Zcash Price Rebounds as New Proposal Challenges Mining Rewards

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