Zcash has faced criticism from some cryptocurrency traders over a community grant supporting outreach at adult industry events, even as the organizers defend the program as a way to bring private payments to people who struggle with traditional banking services.
Summary
- Zcash traders criticized the ZECsy team’s appearance at an adult entertainment convention, with one trader claiming to have increased his short position in ZEC.
- Zcash Community Grants approved the revised $550,000 outreach proposal in August, with funding authorized through the first nine monthly milestones.
- The program includes five adult industry events, four crypto conferences and eight workshops focused on private payments and Zcash adoption.
- ZECsy said 20 adult service providers publicly accepted ZEC as payment in September, while two small businesses had started accepting the cryptocurrency.
The ZECsy grant application outlines a yearlong program led by Mylo Bennett that includes adult industry conventions, cryptocurrency conferences and educational workshops designed to introduce more people to Zcash.
The controversy gained attention after Bennett shared photographs from the team’s booth at Exxxotica, an adult entertainment convention in New Jersey, where representatives were demonstrating Zcash payments and distributing promotional materials.
Some traders objected to the association with the adult industry, while supporters argued that sex workers were among the people who could benefit from financial privacy.
Zcash grant received approval before the backlash
Bennett initially submitted the proposal on August 3, requesting $588,000 for a 12-month program running from September 2026 through August 2027.
The original plan included eight cryptocurrency and technology events, four adult industry conventions and eight weekend workshops.
Following discussions with Zcash Community Grants, Bennett revised the proposal on August 26, reducing the requested budget to $550,000 and placing more emphasis on adult industry outreach.
The revised schedule included five adult industry events, four cryptocurrency conferences and eight workshops.
Bennett explained that the changes would allow the team to spend more time working with communities where people frequently encounter banking restrictions and payment processing problems.
Zcash Community Grants approved the revised proposal on August 31, although its approval was limited to the first nine monthly milestones.
Grant records list approximately $461,500 in approved funding, with an initial payment of $45,833 made on September 1.
The money supports staff compensation, travel, accommodation, event sponsorships, educational materials and demonstrations of Zcash payment technology.
Traders criticize Zcash presence at adult entertainment events
The latest criticism followed Bennett’s post showing the ZECsy team at Exxxotica, where representatives were promoting Zcash through a booth branded as Mama’s Zcash Kitchen.
The team described its activities as offering protection for people’s bodies and money, referring to the combination of physical safety supplies and financial privacy education.
TraderSZ, a cryptocurrency trader on X, responded by saying he had increased his short position in ZEC and criticized the team’s involvement in the event.
Another account, bet more, expressed disappointment with the promotion and supported a separate user’s decision to sell their Zcash holdings.
However, responses on the original community forum were more supportive. Several contributors backed the team’s work, including developers and community members who said the program could introduce Zcash to people unfamiliar with cryptocurrency.
One supporter, posting as emersonian, argued that cryptocurrency projects routinely spend substantial amounts on conference sponsorships and marketing, and described the proposed budget as reasonable for the number of events involved.
ZECsy says private payments can help underserved workers
Bennett and the ZECsy team have maintained that adult industry workers face practical problems that privacy-focused cryptocurrencies could help address.
The application describes workers who have difficulty maintaining bank accounts, receiving payments and protecting personal information when dealing with customers.
Workshops teach participants how to create self-custody wallets, make shielded Zcash transactions and use payment tools without exposing unnecessary financial information.
The team has been demonstrating CipherPay, a point-of-sale system that allows merchants to accept ZEC.
Its September progress report said 20 adult service providers publicly listed ZEC as an accepted payment method, while two small businesses had started accepting the cryptocurrency.
The report recorded $30,883 in spending from the initial $45,833 payment, covering staff compensation and advance arrangements for upcoming events.
ZECsy said its separately funded Amsterdam appearance attracted approximately 200 event check-ins and helped establish relationships with organizations interested in future privacy workshops.
The team has declined to track individual participants’ transaction histories after onboarding, explaining that such monitoring would conflict with the privacy principles being taught.
Zcash privacy debate continues beyond the grant
The controversy has unfolded while Zcash developers and supporters continue promoting shielded transactions as a central feature of the network.
In May, crypto.news reported on Arkham’s findings that its analytics platform had attributed more than 53% of Zcash transactions to identifiable entities.
Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox disputed the implication that the research had compromised fully shielded transactions, explaining that activity protected within the shielded pool remained inaccessible to the analytics platform.
The ZECsy proposal addresses another part of the privacy discussion by focusing on whether people can use shielded payments in everyday commercial settings.
Its September report identified Working Girls Press as one business that had processed ZEC payments through CipherPay during the Amsterdam event.
Organizers said they were preparing further merchant demonstrations at Exxxotica New Jersey, with a vendor scheduled to accept ZEC directly at the booth.
Zcash Community Grants has requested monthly progress updates from Bennett, including spending reports, workshop attendance, wallet installations and details of completed events.
