Zcash Foundation reports $36.69M in liquid assets and just $817K in Q1 operating expenses

The Zcash Foundation closed Q1 with $36.69 million in liquid assets — comprising $21 million in ZEC, $12.6 million in cash and USDC, and smaller holdings in BTC and ETH — while keeping operating expenses to $817,000, with team compensation as the largest line item. The lean cost structure continues a multi-quarter trend of sub-$1 million capex spending.

The disclosure lands against a backdrop of far heavier spending at peer crypto non-profits. The Uniswap Foundation earmarked over $132 million for grants, incentives, and operating costs through January 2027, while Polkadot drew criticism for spending $37 million on marketing alone in 2024. The Zcash Foundation's discipline stands out by comparison.

On the governance front, Executive Director Alex Bornstein addressed the ECC fallout — the entire Electric Coin Company staff departed earlier this year to form Zcash Open Development Lab,…