Zcash gets a Washington lobbyist to push crypto policy

A Zcash-focused advocacy group has filed to lobby in Washington, stepping up the privacy-oriented cryptocurrency ecosystem’s efforts to shape US policy on digital assets.

Pretty Good Policy for Zcash (PGPZ) filed a lobbying registration effective on Oct. 1, naming executive director Divij Pandya as its sole lobbyist. The registration lists the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and two digital asset tax proposals as among its current and anticipated lobbying issues.

PGPZ was launched in June this year, growing out of Pretty Good Policy for Crypto, which was launched in 2022 by Electric Coin Co. The initiative hosted Washington policy roundtables and organized a congressional briefing on encryption technologies in 2023.

PGPZ founder and chief policy and regulatory officer of ZODL, Paul Brigner, said the goal is to “make sure Zcash has serious, organized, and credible policy engagement in Washington.”

“Policymakers are making decisions that will affect whether privacy-preserving digital cash can exist, be used lawfully, and serve the public interest. PGPZ is about ensuring Zcash is understood, represented, and defended in those conversations,” he said.

In August, the Zcash Community Grants approved a $750,000 grant to fund PGPZ’s first year of work.

Related: Zcash targets November of NU7 mainnet upgrade with 25-second blocks