Zcash has faced criticism from some cryptocurrency traders after a community grant funded outreach at adult entertainment events. The organizers, however, say the program aims to help people who face banking restrictions access private digital payments.
The initiative is run by the ZECsy team, led by Mylo Bennett. Its 12-month program includes five adult industry events, four cryptocurrency conferences, and eight educational workshops focused on Zcash adoption and private payments.
The controversy grew after Bennett shared photos of the team’s booth at Exxxotica, an adult entertainment convention in New Jersey. The team demonstrated Zcash payments and distributed promotional materials.
The original grant application, submitted on August 3, requested $588,000. After discussions with Zcash Community Grants, the team revised the proposal on August 26, reducing the budget to $550,000 and expanding its focus on adult industry outreach.
The revised proposal was approved on August 31, with funding authorized for the first nine monthly milestones. Grant records list approximately $461,500 in approved funding, including an initial payment of $45,833 made on September 1. The money covers staff, travel, accommodation, event sponsorships, educational materials, and payment demonstrations.
Some traders criticized the team’s appearance at Exxxotica. TraderSZ said he had increased his short position in ZEC, while another account, bet more, expressed disappointment with the campaign. Other community members defended the initiative, arguing that cryptocurrency projects regularly spend money on conferences and marketing.
The ZECsy team says adult industry workers can face problems maintaining bank accounts, receiving payments, and protecting their personal information. It believes Zcash’s privacy features could help address these challenges.
The program teaches participants how to create self-custody wallets, make shielded Zcash transactions, and use payment tools while limiting the financial information they expose. The team has also been demonstrating CipherPay, a point-of-sale system that allows businesses to accept ZEC.
According to ZECsy’s September progress report, 20 adult service providers had publicly listed ZEC as an accepted payment method, while two small businesses had started accepting the cryptocurrency. The report also recorded $30,883 in spending from the initial $45,833 payment, covering staff compensation and advance event arrangements.
The team said its separately funded appearance in Amsterdam attracted around 200 event check-ins and helped it build relationships with organizations interested in future privacy workshops. It also said it does not track individual participants’ transaction histories after onboarding, citing its commitment to financial privacy.
The debate comes as Zcash supporters continue to promote shielded transactions as a key feature of the network. Earlier research by Arkham reportedly attributed more than 53% of Zcash transactions to identifiable entities. However, Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox disputed claims that this meant fully shielded transactions had been compromised, saying activity protected within the shielded pool remained inaccessible to the analytics platform.
The ZECsy program focuses on making private payments more practical for everyday businesses. Its September report identified Working Girls Press as one business that processed ZEC payments through CipherPay during the Amsterdam event.
The team is also planning further merchant demonstrations at Exxxotica in New Jersey, where a vendor was scheduled to accept ZEC directly at the booth.
Zcash Community Grants has asked Bennett to provide monthly updates covering spending, workshop attendance, wallet installations, and completed events.