Zcash advocacy group registers to lobby on US crypto policy

Pretty Good Policy for Zcash has registered to lobby in Washington, adding a formal policy effort for the privacy-focused cryptocurrency community. The registration took effect Oct. 1 and names Executive Director Divij Pandya as the group’s sole lobbyist.

The filing lists the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and two proposed digital asset tax measures among PGPZ’s current and expected lobbying issues. It does not list any other lobbyists for the organization.

PGPZ launched in June after developing from Pretty Good Policy for Crypto, an initiative created by Electric Coin Co. in 2022. The earlier initiative held policy roundtables in Washington and organized a congressional briefing on encryption technologies in 2023.

Paul Brigner, PGPZ’s founder and chief policy and regulatory officer at ZODL, described the group’s goal as establishing organized policy representation for Zcash in Washington.

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

The Zcash Community Grants program approved $750,000 in August to fund PGPZ’s first year of operations. Zcash is designed to support private digital transactions, while proposed U.S. legislation and tax rules could affect the development and use of privacy-focused cryptocurrencies.