The Winklevoss brothers donated $1.16 million to Zcash developers - ForkLog: cryptocurrencies, AI, singularity, future

Froklog · 2026-01-21T15:40:12+00:00

The Winklevoss twins donated $1.16 million to Shielded Labs, supporting long-term Zcash initiatives focused on network security and sustainability. The organization operates independently from the main Zcash developers and aims to enhance privacy as a fundamental characteristic of cryptocurrency.

Froklog

2026-01-21 15:40:12

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Zcash# The Winklevoss Brothers donate $1.16 million to Zcash developers

The Zcash support organization — Shielded Labs — received 3221 ZEC (approximately $1.16 million) from Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. The funds will be used to finance work on the core protocol of the privacy coin.

https://t.co/iRx986OwCr

— Shielded Labs (@ShieldedLabs) January 20, 2026

Shielded Labs operates independently of the main Zcash development company and does not claim rewards for mining blocks. The organization exists through donations and focuses on research and engineering, rather than creating commercial products. Among its members is Zcash founder Zuko Wilcox.

The received capital will be directed toward long-term initiatives: Network Sustainability Mechanism, Crosslink, and Dynamic Fees. These solutions aim to improve the security, scalability, and economic sustainability of the network.

In a statement, Tyler Winklevoss noted that a healthy ecosystem requires the participation of several independent teams at the protocol level. Cameron Winklevoss added that the brothers have supported the project for years because they believe privacy is a key property of “hard money.”

The grant comes amid structural changes in the ecosystem. Previously, due to disagreements with the board of directors of Electric Coin Company (ECC), a group of developers left and founded a new company.

Later, former ECC cryptographers introduced an alternative wallet, CashZ, based on Zashi code, promising users a simple migration.

Recall that in January, the Winklevoss fund — Winklevoss Capital — invested more than $50 million in Cypherpunk, a company aimed at accumulating ZEC.

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