Zcash ($ZEC) came under pressure after several core developers left the Electric Coin Company (ECC), following a disagreement over governance changes. ECC CEO Josh Swihart confirmed that the resignations were linked to conflicts with the project’s Bootstrap board, saying recent decisions changed working conditions and moved away from Zcash’s original vision.
Swihart described the situation as a “constructive discharge,” explaining that the developers chose to step down and plan to create a new organization that better reflects the founding goals of Zcash. He also stressed that the Zcash protocol itself has not changed and continues to operate normally. As an open-source network, Zcash is not controlled by any single group and still depends on its wider community of miners, validators, and contributors.
The market reacted quickly to the news. ZEC fell over 8% in 24 hours, dropping from around $490 to about $454.9. At the same time, trading volume jumped by 12% to nearly $780 million, showing increased activity as investors reacted to the uncertainty.
Despite the short-term drop, sentiment around privacy-focused cryptocurrencies remains mixed rather than fully bearish. Grayscale’s Q4 2025 report pointed to Zcash as one of the stronger performers among privacy coins, noting continued interest in blockchain projects that focus on user privacy.
