Zcash developers exit ECC to launch a wallet and company.
Developers behind privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash have announced plans to launch a new wallet and form a new Zcash-focused company.
The latest development comes just a day after the team resigned en masse from the Electric Coin Company (ECC) following a governance dispute.
New Wallet Push
Former ECC CEO Josh Swihart announced that the team responsible for launching Zcash and developing the Zashi wallet will now create a new Zcash wallet, code-named cashZ, by utilizing the same Zashi codebase. He explained that the group is not launching a new token and remains fully focused on Zcash development. According to Swihart, the decision to leave ECC and form a new company was driven by the need for a governance structure that better aligns with the ZEC ecosystem’s goals.
His tweet read,
“We are all in on Zcash. We need to scale Zcash to billions of users. Startups can scale, but nonprofits can’t. That’s why we created a new Zcash startup.”
Swihart outlined three core reasons for the transition. First, he said Zcash is rooted in cypherpunk principles and requires leadership that is willing to actively defend privacy as a norm in the digital economy. Second, he argued that combining non-profit foundations with fast-moving tech startups has historically led to misalignment, while adding that a conventional startup structure allows teams and leadership to remain more accountable and aligned. Third, Swihart said Zcash must be able to scale significantly to fulfill its mission and move beyond niche adoption toward billions of potential users.
CryptoPotato had earlier reported that several Zcash developers were “constructively discharged” following internal governance disputes.
Falling Dev Metrics
The announcement comes at a time when ZEC market performance and development metrics appear to be diverging. According to blockchain analytics firm Santiment, the token saw a sharp resurgence in late 2025. Its market capitalization increased roughly 15-fold between late September and mid-November. Since then, however, ZEC’s price has retraced by around 40% over the past two months.
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Amidst price struggles, Zcash’s development activity has declined to its lowest level since November 2021. Historically, the firm said, steady or rising development activity has tended to accompany stronger long-term performance among major altcoins, while falling activity can indicate reduced innovation momentum.
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