Governance Crisis at #zcash $ZEC

The entire Electric Coin Company (ECC), the core developer of the privacy-focused blockchain Zcash, has resigned en masse, exposing deep cracks in the governance model of one of the oldest projects in the cryptocurrency market.

CEO Josh Swihart confirmed on X that the decision to leave stemmed from an irreconcilable conflict with the majority of the board members of Bootstrap, the non-profit organization overseeing ECC. According to Swihart, the terms of employment were altered in a way that made it impossible for the team to continue performing their duties effectively and with integrity, constituting a case of “constructive dismissal” under US labor law.

Bootstrap is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established to govern the ECC and support the Zcash ecosystem. In a public statement, Swihart claimed that some board members – including Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai – had deviated from Zcash's core mission, although he asserted that the blockchain protocol was not directly affected by the departure of the development team.