The Electric Coin Company (ECC), the primary developer of Zcash, saw its full staff depart after what CEO Josh Swihart described as a constructive discharge by Bootstrap, the nonprofit that governs ECC. The resignations followed weeks of internal tension after a major organizational rework announced Dec. 1, raising questions about development continuity for the privacy-focused network.

In a public statement, Swihart said a majority of Bootstrap board members had moved out of alignment with Zcash’s mission and imposed changes that made continued employment untenable. He emphasized that the dispute was organizational rather than technical and said the protocol itself continues to operate independently of ECC.

Swihart wrote:

“Over the past few weeks, it’s become clear that the majority of Bootstrap board members (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created to support Zcash by governing the Electric Coin Company), specifically Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai (ZCAM), have moved into clear misalignment with the mission of Zcash.

Yesterday, the entire ECC team left after being constructively discharged* by ZCAM. 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. We’re founding a new company, but we’re still the same team with the same mission: building unstoppable private money.

Importantly, the Zcash protocol is unaffected. This decision is simply about protecting our team’s work from malicious governance actions that have made it impossible to honor ECC’s original mission. We’ll have more soon. Hang tight. Onward,” Swihart added in the X post.

Zcash is a privacy-oriented cryptocurrency launched in October 2016 that uses zero-knowledge proofs, known as zk-SNARKs, to allow shielded transactions. ECC, founded by Zooko Wilcox in 2015, has historically led protocol development under the oversight of Bootstrap, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created to safeguard the project’s mission.

ZEC saw strong gains in late 2025 as privacy narratives regained attention, but that rally reversed in December during a steep correction tied to profit-taking and thinning liquidity. By early January 2026, prices had stabilized in the high $400 range even as governance tensions intensified behind the scenes.

News of the mass resignation weighed heavily on ZEC. As of 9 a.m. Eastern time on Jan. 8, ZEC was trading at $404.13, down 17% over the past 24 hours. The move extended a broader weekly decline as traders priced in uncertainty around leadership, funding structures, and the future development roadmap.

Trading volume increased sharply following the announcement, reflecting fast-moving positioning and selling pressure by market participants. While some investors focused on Swihart’s claim that the protocol remains unaffected, others expressed concern about the loss of the project’s primary development team.

Swihart said the departing ECC team is forming a new company with the same personnel and mission, though details on how that entity will interact with Zcash have not yet been disclosed. Bootstrap, for its part, has framed the dispute as a governance and legal matter tied to nonprofit obligations.

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The episode highlights ongoing strains in crypto governance models where decentralized networks rely on centralized legal structures. For ZEC holders, the coming weeks will likely hinge on whether development efforts can continue smoothly and whether confidence can be restored following one of the most significant organizational disruptions in the project’s history.

• Why did the Electric Coin Company team resign?
  The team said changes imposed by the Bootstrap board amounted to constructive discharge and made their roles untenable.
• Is the Zcash protocol still running?
  Yes, Josh Swihart said the Zcash protocol itself is unaffected and continues to operate independently.
• How did the news affect ZEC’s price?
  ZEC fell sharply, dropping about 17% in 24 hours to roughly $404 as of Jan. 8.
• What happens to Zcash development now?
  The former ECC team plans to form a new company, while the broader ecosystem assesses how development will proceed.

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