š§Ø Major Developer Exodus & Governance Crisis$ZEC
Core development team at Electric Coin Company (ECC) resigned en masse around Jan 7ā8, 2026 following a governance dispute with the Bootstrap board, which oversees Zcashās structure. The team calls it āconstructive discharge,ā saying board decisions blocked them from fulfilling the projectās mission.
ECC developers plan to form a new company to continue building privacy tech, indicating a split from the existing nonprofit governance setup.
The sudden departure has shaken confidence in ZECās governance and development future.
š Price Impact & Market Reaction
ZECās price plunged double digits (7 %ā20 % in various reports) in the days following the developer exit, with market cap losses reported around $1.6 billion in a single session.
Broader crypto stress (including Bitcoin weakness) compounded selling pressure.
š”ļø Network Resilience & Community Response
The Zcash Foundation has stressed that the underlying protocol remains secure and operational, noting no single team controls the network.
On-chain activity and development metrics are at multi-year lows, reflecting both the departures and market downturn.
š” New Initiatives & Ecosystem Moves
Former ECC contributors have announced CashZ, a new privacy-focused Zcash wallet, aimed at simplifying user access to privacy features without issuing a new token.
š Longer-Term Context
Prior to the crisis, Zcashās roadmap included privacy upgrades and ecosystem expansions (e.g., Zashi wallet enhancements and potential smart-contract privacy layers), but governance disputes now overshadow these plans.
Summary:
Zcash (ZEC) ā often mistakenly referred to as āZeccoinā ā is facing its biggest test in years as its core development team exits amid governance conflict, triggering sharp price declines and raising questions about future development. Despite this, the network continues running, and new projects like CashZ wallet aim to keep the ecosystem alive. Institutional interest (e.g., increased holdings by some firms in late 2025) still highlights long-term belief in ZECās privacy value even as short-term sentiment turns cautious.
$ZEC #ZeusInCrypto #ZE_TRADš
