Electric Coin Company’s entire Zcash team quits in Bootstrap governance rift

Electric Coin Company’s full Zcash team has resigned after a governance clash with nonprofit Bootstrap, planning a new “unstoppable private money” venture as ZEC falls.

The entire team at Electric Coin Company, the development organization behind privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash (ZCASH), has departed following governance disputes with its nonprofit oversight body, according to public statements from company leadership.

Zcash and the company behind it Electric Coin Company in governane dispute

Josh Swihart, CEO of Electric Coin Company, announced the team’s exit and stated plans to form a new company to continue privacy-focused cryptocurrency development. The departure follows what Swihart characterized as a breakdown in alignment with Bootstrap, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit created to govern Electric Coin Company and support Zcash development.

Swihart stated that a majority of Bootstrap board members had moved into misalignment with Zcash’s mission. He identified Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai as central figures in that majority, according to his public statement.

The CEO said changes imposed by the board in recent weeks altered employment terms for the Electric Coin Company team, making it impossible for staff to perform their duties effectively. Swihart described the situation as constructive discharge, a term referring to working conditions changed so significantly that employees are effectively forced to resign.

The departing team plans to establish a new company focused on building what Swihart described as “unstoppable private money,” maintaining the privacy and censorship resistance emphasis that has characterized Zcash development.

Swihart emphasized that the Zcash protocol itself remains unaffected by the organizational changes. The Zcash codebase is open-source, and no single company owns or controls the network, according to the statement.

Zooko Wilcox, former Electric Coin Company CEO and Zcash founder, defended the Bootstrap board and stated that Zcash remains permissionless, secure, and safe to use. His response indicated differing perspectives on the causes and implications of the split.

The Zcash token experienced a notable price decline following the announcement, eroding the majority of its December gains, according to market data.

The split highlights tensions between mission-driven development teams and nonprofit governance structures in the cryptocurrency industry. Zcash has long positioned itself as a privacy-focused project, marketing itself as “private money” for users seeking transaction confidentiality.

The dispute also revealed confusion around organizational roles, with Swihart acknowledging that public listings showing him as executive director of Bootstrap were outdated.

Supporters of the departing team argued that separation from Bootstrap governance may strengthen development efforts, while critics expressed concerns about fragmentation and loss of institutional continuity.

The episode underscores challenges facing decentralized cryptocurrency projects that rely on hybrid structures combining nonprofits, companies, and open-source communities.