2026-01-09 09:25:31

The development of Zcash has recently encountered some setbacks. Josh Swihart, CEO of ECC (Electric Coin Company, the core developer of Zcash), announced a major news on January 8th — the team has collectively left the original organization and is preparing to establish a new company independently.

Here's what happened: ECC and its higher governance body, Bootstrap, have fundamental disagreements over direction. ECC feels that the current non-profit structure is too restrictive, making fundraising difficult, incentives inflexible, and execution efficiency lagging, which hampers the project's growth. Meanwhile, Bootstrap (a non-profit organization’s board) is worried that shifting to a profit-oriented model could lead to legal and political issues and cannot accept this change.

Unable to reconcile their differences, ECC decided to leave. On January 9th, Josh Swihart officially founded a new for-profit company, CashZ, focused on developing Zcash wallet products and commercial applications. Their goal is clear — to build a sustainable profit model and turn Zcash into an ecosystem covering hundreds of millions of users.

The market's reaction to this news was quite straightforward: the price of Zcash dropped by 20%. This decline itself indicates the problem — investors are worried about the collective departure of the core development team, and the stability of the ecosystem has been questioned. How this power split will affect Zcash’s future remains to be seen.

ZEC3,36%

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SerumDegen

· 01-12 08:10

ngl this is giving classic governance death spiral vibes... -20% literally the market saying "we don't trust this schism" lmao

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ContractExplorer

· 01-11 18:47

This is a classic case of idealism vs. realism. Non-profit mechanisms are indeed rigid, but ultimately it's still a money issue. Whether CashZ can handle this mess remains a big question... The 20% drop is the market voting. Honestly, once the core development team withdraws, who still has the confidence to hold? Splitting into two entities, the story of Zcash doesn't seem so pure anymore. This move is a bit like the EOS incidents back in the day, but at least CashZ still wants to build products and isn't completely passing the buck.

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HappyMinerUncle

· 01-10 10:37

It's the same old story again, non-profit vs. for-profit, it feels like every project can't escape this curse. A 20% drop says everything; this move really hurt market confidence. --- Josh is trying to make a big move during the crypto recovery, but who will pay for the aftermath of the split? --- Sustainable profit models sound good, but it depends on whether the team can actually deliver. Otherwise, it's just another capital game. --- The path for privacy coins has always been difficult, and now they are splitting internally. Who can withstand this? --- The Bootstrap team is too conservative, but ECC walking away like this seems a bit impatient, jumping into action before the community reacts. --- The dream of an ecosystem with hundreds of millions of users sounds grand, but first, we must stabilize the confidence of existing investors. --- Honestly, I’m quite optimistic about this split; competition brings vitality. However, in the short term, there will definitely be volatility.

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LoneValidator

· 01-09 09:55

It's the same internal conflict drama, I'm already tired of it. Non-profit vs. for-profit, in simple terms, it's the old opposition between idealism and realism. Once the core team withdraws, the price halves by 20%. What else needs to be observed? The market has already voted, okay. CashZ sounds like a makeshift name, can it really build an ecosystem with a billion users? I feel like it's just a power struggle. With such a tumultuous split, how long can Zcash's privacy advantage last? Don't get overtaken by other privacy coins later.

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ForkLibertarian

· 01-09 09:49

A 20% decline... This is the market saying "I don't trust your internal conflicts." Another good project ruined by internal bickering, it's really frustrating. Non-profit frameworks can't secure funding, switching to for-profit just seems troublesome... This is the norm in crypto, too hard to coordinate. Can CashZ save the situation? Feeling not very optimistic. Splits always happen like this; seemingly for freedom, but in the end, the ecosystem fractures and investors take losses... We've seen this too many times. Can Josh's move succeed, or will it be another abandoned project?

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GasDevourer

· 01-09 09:46

Another power struggle show, ZEC this time really underperforming --- Damn, the core team has all left, what’s there to play? --- Non-profit vs. profit, in simple terms, is idealism versus reality; in the end, idealism lost --- A 20% drop clearly reflects market panic; confidence is indeed fragile --- Can CashZ save ZEC? I remain skeptical; division has never been a good sign --- Josh’s move feels a bit like shooting himself in the foot --- Questions about ecosystem stability; this statement is too tactful, it’s basically doomed --- If fundraising is difficult, then go for profit; I understand this logic, but the market clearly doesn’t buy it --- Waiting to see what happens next, but ZEC’s halo has indeed faded

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MetaLord420

· 01-09 09:45

Another major escape of the core team, this time Zcash is done for --- Josh said they need to be profitable, the board said no, and then... it fell apart? So typical --- A 20% drop isn't a joke; the market has long voted against it --- I understand non-profit chokehold, but this kind of abandonment is too hardcore --- Can CashZ save the situation? Feels more like the beginning of internal strife --- Looks like a power struggle; the project has been split apart --- Ecosystem stability? Ha, you're joking --- Difficult fundraising and inflexible incentive mechanisms... how many times have we heard this reason --- Starting a new company directly, is ECC's move a tantrum or do they have a backup plan --- Zcash is playing a splitting game; investors should run

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NftBankruptcyClub

· 01-09 09:43

Oh no, another internal conflict drama. Is Zcash about to fail? The core team withdraws, and the price drops 20%. Investors are all stunned. --- Josh directly walks away to create CashZ. This guy is really tough, but... I understand non-profit organizations being restricted, but switching to profit to save the world? That's too naive. --- The concerns about Bootstrap are actually not unfounded. Profit models do tend to cause trouble, but sticking to a stagnant situation isn't a solution either. It seems that the days of privacy coins are becoming increasingly difficult. --- A 20% decline is quite honest; the market is voting with its money, indicating that investors have no confidence at all. --- CashZ aims to build an ecosystem with hundreds of millions of users? First, restore Zcash's trustworthiness. With the current situation, who dares to get involved?

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SelfMadeRuggee

· 01-09 09:33

Another power struggle... Non-profit vs. for-profit, how many times has this played out in crypto, haha. --- When the Zcash team ran away to establish their own company, I just want to ask, is this new company CashZ reliable? Feels a bit trendy. --- A 20% drop, definitely a market vote, indicating that everyone isn't very optimistic about this split. --- The constraints of being non-profit are indeed annoying, but can turning profit solve the problem? I don't think so. --- Haha, Josh Swihart's move this time is a bit ruthless, he just walked away and started anew, quite bold. --- It seems that Zcash's split this time is not a good sign for the future of privacy coins... --- CashZ? That name sounds a bit... not very serious, do I think so?

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0xLuckbox

· 01-09 09:26

The core development team collectively ran away, and a 20% drop is considered mild. We've heard this story of transitioning from a non-profit to a for-profit so many times—what's the outcome in the end? It's another new company, new vision, new promises, but what about the money? What about the ecosystem? How many people are still using Zcash...

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