Shielded Labs
An independent, donation-funded Zcash organization — the first that has never taken Development Fund or block-reward money. It drives two protocol-economics efforts: Crosslink (hybrid Proof-of-Stake) and the Network Sustainability Mechanism.
Crosslink
Hybrid Proof-of-Work + Proof-of-Stake with BFT finality
Gives Zcash the combined security of PoW and PoS and lets people get paid to hold ZEC. PoW and BFT finality are integrated; staking & tokenomics are in development, with hardening and productionization (final ZIPs + audits) slated for 2026.
Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM)
Three proposed changes to ZEC supply economics. Overview ↗
Burning
ZIP 233A protocol mechanism to permanently remove ZEC from circulation, via voluntary contributions or protocol fees.
Issuance Smoothing
ZIP 234An issuance smoothing curve that reissues burned ZEC over time instead of relying only on the four-year halving, stabilizing miner revenue.
Fee Burning
ZIP 235Burns 60% of transaction fees to add deflationary pressure during periods of high network usage.