Zcash Foundation Confirms Decentralized Commitment Amid ECC Resignation

On January 9, 2026, the Zcash Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining Zcash as a decentralized open-source protocol following the mass resignation of the Electric Coin Company team.

This event underscores Zcash’s resilience amid governance conflicts, impacting ZEC’s market valuation and highlighting the importance of decentralized protocol management in volatile crypto environments.

Zcash Foundation Reinforces Decentralization Post-ECC Resignation

The core development team of the Electric Coin Company (ECC) resigned over governance conflicts with Bootstrap Project, the nonprofit owner of ECC. The Zcash Foundation confirmed that no single entity, team, or organization can control Zcash, highlighting its decentralized and open-source protocol. Josh Swihart, CEO of ECC, stated that the resignation followed fundamental disagreements with Bootstrap’s board, affecting roadmap execution and ECC’s mission alignment. Market analysts reported that Zcash’s native asset, ZEC, experienced significant selling pressure, declining 20% in a day.

Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn, Zcash’s founder, emphasized:

Market Reaction: ZEC Decline and Historical Context

Did you know?
In prior governance conflicts, Zcash’s leadership changes have led to short-term market volatility, a pattern similar to disputes in Ethereum’s history.

As of January 9, 2026, Zcash (ZEC) traded at $432.95, with a market cap of $7.13 billion and market dominance of 0.23%. According to CoinMarketCap, the 24-hour trading volume surged to $1.44 billion, marking a 92.79% increase. Price movements show a 4.15% decline over 24 hours and a significant 33.58% drop over 60 days, though ZEC saw a notable 103.46% increase over 90 days.

The Coincu research team identified potential outcomes of the governance shifts, highlighting that Zcash’s decentralized structure might prevent single entities from significantly affecting the ecosystem. This event may drive further decentralization in protocol governance, as stakeholders aim to safeguard Zcash’s mission of privacy and openness.