2026-01-08 21:44:00

Internal administrative conflict around the cryptocurrency #Zcash has led to its collapse. Here is a reason that may make it less significant than it appears.

The team of developers of the private cryptocurrency "#Zcash " (ZEC $421.28) caused a stir online on Thursday by announcing a split to establish a new company after a conflict with "Bootstrapped," a non-profit organization created to support the network. However, according to Mirt Mepesta, CEO of the "Helios" API platform (API) of the "Solana" company, this action is unlikely to significantly impact the second-largest private platform.

Mepesta stated in his post on the "X" platform: "Zkash has not lost anything. The European Management Center team (E. CC) and the board of directors did not approve, so they transformed the company under a different name and without a board of directors... This means they are now free from political restrictions."

This split caused Zcash's price to drop to 19%, negatively affecting a year that was filled with growth. Its value increased by 880% in 2025. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency "Monero" (XMR$461.13), its biggest competitor, saw an increase after the announcement.

The team that worked at Electric Coin Company (E. CC), one of the two main developers of the cryptocurrency, announced that it would continue working on the token. Boot.. strap remains a non-profit organization controlling Zcash, and a new team of developers is funded through open grants.

Josh Swart, former CEO of E. CC, stated in his post on "X": "The most important thing is that the Zcash protocol remains unchanged. This decision is simply aimed at protecting our team's work from bad governance practices that hindered the original mission of E. CC."

The conflict was about the possibility of privatizing Zashi — the protocol's mobile wallet — to attract external investments. Boot... strap issued a statement saying it is working with legal counsel to ensure that any future path complies with U.S. law and does not threaten the broad Zcash community.

"Explicit Contradiction"

Members of the team who left the project confirmed that Boot... strap's methods contradict the broader goals of Zcash.

Swart wrote that the Bootstrapped board of directors was "clearly in conflict" with Zcash's mission, and claimed that the team was "dismissed constructively."

Sean Bu, a leading cryptography expert and former algorithm engineer of selective cryptography, noted that reorganizing under a new structure would free the project from "very cautious management of Bootstrapped," allowing developers to better focus on Zcash's mission.

He wrote on "X": "We were not slaves, and we would have left if we felt we could build Zcash better under a different structure. Well, that’s exactly what happened two days ago."

Arjhon Himani, who calls himself the "leader of the meme war" in Zcash, confirmed this and wrote on "X" that "no one from Zcash resigned," and that the entire development team is more cohesive than ever.

They realized that bureaucracy cannot hinder the future of freedom.

Externally, this crisis seems negative. The cryptocurrency's value dropped the most since December 1, developers are feeling disappointed, and there is a clear split between Bootstrapped and the team building the network.

But in reality, the team working on features like secure transactions and Tacon updates will continue to work on the network, even under a new name.

Specifically, former CEO of Electric Coin Company Zuko Wilcox stated that Thursday's events will not affect the Zcash network.

"The Zcash network is open source, permissionless, secure, private, and nothing in this conflict will change that. You can continue to use Zcash safely."

Monero's Advantage

However, although it is unlikely that there will be drastic changes in daily development today, the tense relations caused by this crisis may have structural consequences in the coming months.

Perhaps this conflict will benefit Monero, whose value has increased by 6.5%, according to Coin... Desk data. Currently, XMR is trading with a market capitalization of $8.4 billion, surpassing ZEC, which has a market cap of $7 billion.

Julian, founder of Ciphe.. rLabs, a company specializing in Web3 security, compared cryptocurrencies #ZEC and #XMR on the "X" platform and wrote: "It’s all very clear. As a supporter of true privacy, I will choose Monero. It is a currency supported by investment capital, compared to a cryptocurrency that is truly privacy-oriented and has real demand."

ZEC-2,49%

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BasheerAlgundubi

2026-01-08 20:07:29

The administrative dispute over #Zcash led to its collapse. Here is the reason why it might be less significant than it appears.
The privacy coin "#Zcash " team caused a stir on the network on Thursday by announcing their separation to establish a new company after a disagreement with "Bootstraps," a non-profit organization created to support the network. However, this move is unlikely to make a significant change for the second-largest privacy platform, according to Mert Mamtaz, CEO of Helios API platform (API) affiliated with Solana.

Mamtaz said in a post on X: "Zcash didn't lose anything. The European Control Center team (E. CC) was unhappy with its board, so they spun off the company itself under a different name and without a board... which means they are now free from political burdens."

This separation caused Zcash's value to drop by up to 19%, negatively impacting what had been a year of growth. Its value increased by 880% in 2025. Meanwhile, the competing coin "Monero" (XMR$461.13) saw the biggest rise following the announcement.

The team, which was working at Electric Coin Company (E. CC), one of the main companies developing the coin, announced that it will continue working on the token. Boot.. strap remains the non-profit organization overseeing Zcash, and the new development company was funded through open grants.

Josh Suyart, former CEO of E. CC, said in a post on X: "Most importantly, the Zcash protocol was unaffected. This decision simply aims to protect our team's work from malicious governance practices that hindered E. CC's original mission."

The dispute centered around the potential privatization of Zashi, a private mobile wallet for the protocol, aimed at attracting external investments. Boot... strap issued a statement saying it is working with a legal advisor to ensure any future path complies with U.S. law and does not jeopardize the broader Zcash community.

"Clear Conflict"

Former team members confirmed that Boot... strap's methods conflict with Zcash's broader goals.

Suyart wrote that the Bootstraps board was in "clear disagreement" with Zcash's mission, claiming that the team had been "constructively dismissed."

Sean Bowe, a prominent cryptography expert and former engineer of selective cryptographic algorithms, said that reorganizing under a new structure would free the project from what he described as Bootstraps' overly cautious governance, allowing developers to better focus on Zcash's mission.

He wrote on X: "We weren't slaves, and we would have left if we felt we could build Zcash better under a different structure. Well, that's exactly what happened two days ago."

Argon Khimani, who describes himself as a "meme war leader" in Zcash, shared this view, writing on X that "no one from Zcash has resigned," and that the entire development team is more cohesive than ever.

They realized that bureaucracy cannot be allowed to hinder the future of freedom.

Superficially, this crisis seems negative. The digital currency's value has dropped the most since December 1, and developers are frustrated, with a clear rift between Bootstraps and the network builders.

But in reality, the team that developed features like protected transactions and the Tayon update will continue working on the network, albeit under a new name.

Zuko Wilcox, former CEO of Electric Coin, also stated that Thursday's events will not affect the Zcash network.

"Zcash is open-source, permissionless, secure, private, and nothing happening in this dispute will change that. You can continue to use Zcash safely."

Monero Gain

Nevertheless, although a fundamental change in daily development is unlikely, the tense relations caused by this crisis may have structural impacts in the coming months.

This divergence may have benefited Monero, which increased in value by up to 6.5%, according to Coin... Desk data. XMR is currently traded with a market cap of $8.4 billion, surpassing ZEC's market cap of $7 billion.

Julian, founder of Ciphe.. rLabs, a Web3 security company, posted a comparison between ( and ) on X, writing: "This clearly explains everything. As a true privacy advocate, I would choose Monero. A coin backed by investment capital versus a privacy-focused digital currency with real demand."

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