Zcash’s total Electrical Coin Firm (ECC) crew has resigned to begin a brand new privateness crypto agency after claiming that inner battle over restructuring meant they may now not honour the agency’s authentic mission.
Former ECC CEO, Josh Swihart, introduced the group’s departure from the cryptocurrency’s primary improvement group on Wednesday.
Swihart claims that the builders had been “constructively discharged” by board members of nonprofit Bootstrap, a bunch that owns ECC and backs Zcash.
Over the previous few weeks, it is change into clear that almost all of Bootstrap board members (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created to help Zcash by governing the Electrical Coin Firm), particularly Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai (ZCAM), have moved into…
— Josh Swihart 🛡 (@jswihart) January 7, 2026
Josh Swihart’s resignation assertion.
He stated, “In short, the terms of our employment were changed in ways that made it impossible for us to perform our duties effectively and with integrity.”
He famous that the privateness protocol is unaffected, including that the crew’s departure is “about protecting our team’s work from malicious governance actions that have made it impossible to honor ECC’s original mission.”
Bootstrap board says resignation is over restructuring
Swiharts says Bootstrap board members had been misaligned with Zcash’s mission. Board member Zaki Manian, nonetheless, has since launched a press release on behalf of Bootstrap denying this.
The board claims the dispute was over how the corporate can be restructured because it sought exterior funding and tried to privatise the Zcash pockets Zashi.
The board says it has been cautious to abide by U.S. nonprofit legislation, stay in line with the long-term mission of Zcash, and never jeopardize the broader Zcash group.
Nevertheless, it claims {that a} proposed deal, seemingly backed by the now departed builders, would open Zcash as much as politically-motivated assaults, lawsuits from donors, and the “transaction” unwinding, leading to Zashi transferring again to the ECC.
Assertion on the departure of Zcash builders from the Bootstrap board.
“We do not doubt that those who proposed this transaction believed it was the right path forward for Zcash,” it stated, “but good intentions do not satisfy legal requirements, and urgency does not excuse a flawed process.”
The board additionally claimed, “This is not a disagreement about Zcash’s mission, which remains unchanged. It is about compliance with the legal and fiduciary obligations of a 501(c)(3), and about the moral imperative of ensuring Bootstrap’s assets remain dedicated to the mission they were meant to serve.”
Swihart turned CEO of ECC again in 2023 after one other founding member of Zcash, Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn, stepped down from the agency.
On the time, Wilcox-O’Hearn hinted {that a} disagreement had taken place between himself and Swihart.
In response to the latest resignation, Wilcox-O’Hearn distanced himself from the battle and stated, “None of it involves me or Shielded Labs, and it’s not my place to opine on it.”
He additionally described the alleged misaligned board members as “people of exceptionally high integrity,” and famous that nothing within the battle will cease Zcash from being “open source, permissionless, secure, and private.”
On the time of writing, Zcash is down virtually 20% throughout the final 24 hours.
Protos has reached out to Zcash for remark and can replace this piece ought to we hear again.
