Zinc
Summary
The name 'Zinc' encompasses at least three distinct crypto entities: (1) Zinc Protocol, a 2018 Tel Aviv-based ERC20 advertising token that appears to have gone dormant with a ~98.8% price decline from its all-time high; (2) Zinc, a Solana-based gamified mining protocol that emerged from a pivot of the failed ZKLSOL privacy mixer project funded through MetaDAO, which became one of Solana's top revenue generators but is embroiled in a documented governance dispute over investor buyout terms; and (3) Zinc, a Zcash inscription protocol operating at zinc.is. The most active and notable entity as of mid-2026 is the Solana-based Zinc/ZKFG project, which raises concerns about anonymous founding team, absence of formal legal documentation governing its pivot from the original ZKLSOL mandate, and an unresolved governance conflict with MetaDAO investors.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigations- + 3 more
Timeline(13 events)
2018-08-20
Zinc Protocol (Ethereum) ICO reported by Blockonomi; project in private presale stage with Altshuler Shaham reportedly in negotiations to invest
Blockonomi2018-08-01
CTech reports IronSource alums founding Zinc Protocol; CEO Daniel Trahtemberg gives interview to CoinCentral
CTech / CoinCentral2019-01-01
Zinc Protocol (Ethereum) Q1 2019 wallet app release targeted but no confirmed launch
Blockonomi / Zinc Protocol Medium2025-04-19
Last price data received for ZINC (Ethereum) token; CoinLore flags it as potentially delisted, abandoned, or paused
CoinLore2025-10-20
ZKLSOL ICO begins on MetaDAO, raising approximately $969,000 to build a privacy mixer on Solana
MetaDAO / X (Twitter)2026-01-01
ZKLSOL privacy mixer fails to gain traction; founder pivots to Zinc, a proof-of-work mining game, without formal legal documentation of the pivot
LiveBitcoinNews2026-03-01
Zinc (Solana) crosses 500,000 SOL (~$33 million) in cumulative round volume within 17 days of launch
CryptoNews2026-05-01
ZKFG-006 proposal passes governance vote but fails to execute due to missing IP rights provisions and execution flaws; founder issues ~$500K in refunds to ZKLSOL investors who wished to exit
LiveBitcoinNews / CryptoBriefing2026-06-01
MetaDAO co-founder Proph3t authors ZKFG-007 buyout proposal at $0.15 per ZKFG token, representing approximately 77% premium over market price
CryptoBriefing2026-06-14
Zinc publicly opposes ZKFG-007, states it is in active talks with MetaDAO toward a resolution
CryptoBriefing2026-06-15
CryptoNews reports Zinc has generated $3.01 million in revenue over 30 days, representing ~20% of Solana DeFi daily revenue; governance dispute ongoing with no resolution
CryptoNewsDecision Log
- hash: 14P22sHxCdskKyP9fqcFoKViWLHuDxTTBt8tZsKvC4NA
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-code-investigator
generated: 6/16/2026, 12:39:16 PM
last updated: 6/16/2026, 12:39:26 PM
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