A former Zcash core development team has launched a new privacy wallet, CASHZ, shortly after leaving Electric Coin Company (ECC) following a governance dispute. The launch keeps the team tied to privacy technology and Zcash itself, but outside the previous organizational structure.
Core team exit followed a governance dispute
According to the source material, the entire core team at ECC left on January 8 after clashing with the nonprofit that oversees the project. The developers said changes to working conditions and decision-making freedom had become significant enough that they could no longer continue their work in the same way.
This was not a network failure. Zcash kept operating normally. The pressure point was development leadership, and the departure of the original builders quickly raised questions over who would guide future development and maintain the roadmap.
CASHZ enters the wallet race against Zashi
After the split, former ECC team members moved to build CASHZ, a new privacy wallet aimed at Zcash users. The report says the wallet is set to compete with Zashi, which was already available to users. The team behind CASHZ said the product will prioritize design simplicity, privacy features, and usability.
The source also notes that users will be able to migrate in a way that should make the transition easier for existing Zcash wallet users, though one part of that feature description appears incomplete in the original text.
Josh Swihart says the team is still committed to Zcash
The project is being led by former ECC CEO Josh Swihart. He said the team remains “all in” on Zcash and wants to scale the platform to billions of users. His explanation was straightforward: startups move faster than nonprofits, so the group chose to build a Zcash startup instead of staying under the nonprofit model.
He framed the new effort around speed, execution, and real-world adoption. That suggests the break was about structure and control, not a retreat from the privacy-focused mission behind Zcash.
ZEC remains below recent highs after sharp selloff
On the market side, CoinMarketCap data cited in the report shows ZEC down 3.89% over the last 24 hours, trading near $442. During the governance crisis, the token dropped from above $500 to nearly $400, a move that reflected intense selling pressure at the time.
The report also lists short-term technical readings: price holding around $443 to $446, RSI 14 at 55.9, and a MACD histogram of +3.95. Based on that reading, the article says holding above $430 to $440 could open a move toward $470 to $480, while a break below support could send ZEC back to $400 to $410. The most likely range in the source is $420 to $470.
The bigger issue is who drives Zcash from here
The wallet launch is only one part of the story. The source frames the broader issue around governance and leadership in crypto projects: code can continue to run, but trust takes longer to rebuild. With CASHZ now live as a new effort from former insiders, Zcash is moving through a period where development continues, though under a different framework.
How CASHZ competes with existing products, and how much influence the departed team keeps over the ecosystem, now becomes part of the next phase for Zcash.