In a significant development for Zcash enthusiasts and the cryptocurrency community, a group of former Electric Coin Company (ECC) employees has announced plans to launch a new wallet named cashZ. This announcement comes just hours after the team left ECC due to disagreements over governance and organizational issues. The new wallet is expected to be available within weeks, utilizing the existing Zashi codebase.
The departure from ECC took place on a Wednesday, with the team citing conflicts surrounding the nonprofit’s governance structure as a primary reason. According to Josh Swihart, the former CEO of ECC, the new initiative is aimed at returning to the cypherpunk principles that originally inspired the creation of Zcash. The team believes that to expand Zcash effectively, they must prioritize speed and innovation over bureaucratic processes.
Swihart revealed the first steps for the cashZ wallet on Thursday, emphasizing that users currently on the Zashi wallet will find the transition to cashZ seamless and straightforward. The new wallet has already garnered interest, with over 3,800 sign-ups reported on the cashZ website.
The decision to leave ECC arose from a need for a more agile structure to drive Zcash forward. As there was a clash with the Bootstrap board—oversight for ECC—the team expressed concerns about the nonprofit’s capacity to expedite necessary changes. The team feels that privacy rights advocacy demands prompt responses to new challenges, something they argue would be hampered under the traditional nonprofit model.
Team’s Vision
Swihart detailed their vision, stating, “Our goal is to scale Zcash to billions of users.” This ambitious target underscores their belief that Zcash must transform from its current status into a competitive force among major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The developers are committed to making privacy in cryptocurrency standard, akin to the privacy we expect in everyday transactions.
In his reflections on the organizational challenges previously faced, Swihart noted that the complexities arising from the interplay between nonprofit foundations and tech startups often lead to “endless drama,” detracting from core operational objectives. The establishment of cashZ aims to mitigate these conflicts and streamline the path forward.
Market Reaction
Following the announcement of this leadership change and new wallet initiative, the Zcash token (ZEC) experienced notable price volatility. The token saw a drop of more than 21%, briefly falling below the $400 mark before showing signs of recovery, stabilizing around $430 in early trading on the following Friday. Despite this rebound, ZEC remains significantly lower than its all-time high of $3,191 from 2016 and down 38% from its 2025 peak of nearly $700, reflecting ongoing market apprehension.
Importantly, the foundational Zcash protocol will remain unchanged, and the same dedicated development team that previously worked at ECC will continue to enhance the Zcash network under the new corporate framework. This continuity in engineering talent will be a reassuring factor for Zcash users concerned about the implications of this split.
As the crypto community watches closely, the upcoming launch of the cashZ wallet marks an intriguing new chapter for Zcash—the hope is it heralds an era of renewed focus on privacy and growth in a rapidly evolving market.
