Verify a decision

{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"c74f94ee-608e-40f1-ba08-8dde9224dc41","kind":"publish","page_slug":"zcash","published_at":"2026-05-14T06:02:57.639Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Zcash","sections":[{"content":"Zcash is an open-source, decentralized cryptocurrency derived from Bitcoin's codebase. It launched on October 28, 2016, and is maintained by the Electric Coin Company (ECC) and the Zcash Foundation, two separate nonprofit-adjacent entities. The protocol's defining feature is its use of zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge (zk-SNARKs) to allow transaction validity to be verified without disclosing the sender, recipient, or amount. Zcash supports two address types: transparent addresses, which expose transaction metadata on-chain in a manner similar to Bitcoin, and shielded addresses, which encrypt transaction data using zk-SNARKs. The protocol has a fixed maximum supply of 21 million ZEC and uses a proof-of-work consensus mechanism with the Equihash hash function. As of May 2026, Zcash's market capitalization has risen sharply, with reported prices near $597 USD per ZEC and a total market cap near $10 billion, placing it among the top 15 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.","heading":"Overview and Technology","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Zcash - Wikipedia","type":"other","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zcash"},{"credibility":2,"name":"What is Zcash (ZEC)? The Privacy Coin Using Zero-Knowledge Proofs - Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/resources/zcash"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Zcash price today, ZEC to USD live price, marketcap and chart - CoinMarketCap","type":"other","url":"https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/zcash/"}]},{"content":"Zcash was founded by Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn, a self-described cypherpunk and computer security specialist who previously worked on DigiCash with David Chaum in 1996 and was among the first to publicly write about Bitcoin in January 2009. The academic foundations of the protocol were developed from 2013 onward by cryptographers including Matthew Green, Ian Miers, and Christina Garman (Johns Hopkins University), Alessandro Chiesa and Madars Virza (MIT), Eli Ben-Sasson (Technion), and Eran Tromer (Tel Aviv University). Wilcox-O'Hearn served as CEO of the Electric Coin Company until December 18, 2023, when he was succeeded by Josh Swihart. The Electric Coin Company rebranded from 'the Zcash Company' on February 21, 2019. In 2020, ECC transitioned to nonprofit ownership by becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bootstrap Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The Zcash Foundation is a separate 501(c)(3) that also receives a portion of block rewards and conducts independent governance functions. In April 2022, Edward Snowden was publicly revealed to have participated in Zcash's 2016 trusted setup ceremony under the pseudonym 'John Dobbertin.' Snowden stated he participated out of public interest and received no compensation.","heading":"Founders and Organizational Structure","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn - Wikipedia","type":"other","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zooko_Wilcox-O'Hearn"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Edward Snowden revealed as John Dobbertin - PR Newswire","type":"official","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/edward-snowden-revealed-as-john-dobbertin---the-final-pseudonymous-member-of-2016s-setup-process-for-privacy-preserving-cryptocurrency-zcash-confirmed-in-zcash-medias-latest-video-301534963.html"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Edward Snowden says he was the mystery man involved in the creation of Zcash - Fortune","type":"news_article","url":"https://fortune.com/2022/04/28/edward-snowden-crypto-zcash/"}]},{"content":"From Zcash's launch in 2016, 20% of all block rewards were directed to an allocation known as the 'Founders' Reward,' which funded the Electric Coin Company, the Zcash Foundation, and early investors and employees including Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn. Critics characterized this as a 'developer tax' raising centralization concerns, and noted that early investors received 100% of their allocation within the first year of the network, providing near-immediate liquidity. Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn was reportedly receiving approximately 2,000 ZEC per month in compensation during this period. The Founders' Reward expired in November 2020 after the first four-year halving epoch. After an extensive community governance process that produced over twenty competing proposals and included both panel votes and coinholder stake polls, ZIP 1014 was adopted. Under ZIP 1014, 20% of the new block subsidy continues to fund development: 7% to ECC, 5% to the Zcash Foundation, and 8% to a Major Grants Fund for independent third-party developers. Approximately 77 of 88 Community Advisory Panel members voted in favor of ZIP 1014, and coinholder votes representing 99.9% of staked ZEC also approved the proposal.","heading":"Founders' Reward and Tokenomics Controversy","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"ZIP 1014: Establishing a Dev Fund for ECC, ZF, and Major Grants","type":"official","url":"https://zips.z.cash/zip-1014"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Zcash ZEC Tokenomics Deep Dive: From Controversial Founders' Reward to Community Governance - Unlocks","type":"research","url":"https://insights.unlocks.app/zcash-zec-tokenomics-deep-dive-from-controversial-founders-reward-to-community-governance/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Reaching Consensus - Electric Coin Company","type":"official","url":"https://electriccoin.co/reaching-consensus/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"What Does Crypto Care if Zooko Is a Millionaire? - CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2018/07/01/what-does-crypto-care-if-zooko-is-a-millionaire"}]},{"content":"On March 1, 2018, Zcash Company employee Ariel Gabizon discovered a critical vulnerability in the implementation of Zcash's zk-SNARK parameter setup. The flaw resided in the 'parameter setup algorithm' and allowed an attacker who possessed the original multi-party computation (MPC) ceremony transcript to circumvent a consistency check, transforming the proof of one statement into a valid-looking proof of a different statement. In practical terms, this would have allowed an attacker to create unlimited counterfeit shielded ZEC — effectively infinite money printing — without detection on the chain. The Electric Coin Company made a strategic decision to keep the vulnerability secret for approximately seven months while developing a fix. The patch was covertly included in the Sapling network upgrade, which activated on October 28, 2018. ECC states that the original ceremony transcript was not widely downloaded, and that the company removed it from public availability upon discovery of the vulnerability. ECC also states that exploitation 'would have required a high level of technical and cryptographic sophistication that very few people possess,' and that on-chain monitoring found no evidence of counterfeit ZEC having been created. The vulnerability was publicly disclosed on February 5, 2019. Other projects sharing the same codebase lineage, specifically Komodo and Horizen (formerly ZenCash), were also affected and notified in November 2018. The 2022 Orchard protocol upgrade introduced the Halo 2 proving system, which requires no trusted setup, eliminating this class of vulnerability going forward.","heading":"Critical Security Vulnerability: Counterfeiting Bug (2018-2019)","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Critical Zcash Bug Could Have Allowed 'Infinite Counterfeit' Cryptocurrency - The Hacker News","type":"news_article","url":"https://thehackernews.com/2019/02/zcash-cryptocurrency-hack.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Zcash Counterfeiting Vulnerability Successfully Remediated - Zcash blog","type":"official","url":"https://bitzecbzc.github.io/blog/zcash-counterfeiting-vulnerability-successfully-remediated/index.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"A critical counterfeiting vulnerability addressed in Zcash - Security Affairs","type":"news_article","url":"https://securityaffairs.com/80756/hacking/zcash-counterfeiting-flaw.html"}]},{"content":"On January 7-8, 2026, the entire development team of the Electric Coin Company resigned, triggering a sharp governance crisis. ECC CEO Josh Swihart stated that the resignation was prompted by changes to employment terms made by a majority of Bootstrap's board of directors — naming board members Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai (collectively referred to as 'ZCAM') — which he alleged made it 'impossible for us to perform our duties effectively and with integrity.' The proximate dispute concerned the future of Zashi, Zcash's flagship mobile wallet. ECC sought to spin off Zashi into a separate for-profit entity to attract external capital, while the Bootstrap board opposed the move citing legal risks to the 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. Following their departure, the former ECC team announced plans to form a new independent company and develop a new wallet named 'cashZ,' based on the Zashi codebase. ZEC fell approximately 14-20% in the immediate aftermath of the announcement. Zcash's codebase is open-source under permissive licenses, and the network protocol continued to operate without interruption during and after the governance dispute.","heading":"Governance Crisis: ECC Team Resignation (January 2026)","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"ZEC News: Zcash developer team behind ECC quits after governance clash with Bootstrap board - CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/01/08/zcash-developer-team-behind-ecc-quits-after-governance-clash-with-bootstrap-board"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Zcash developers quit, form new company after board clash - The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/384737/zcash-developers-form-new-company"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Privacy Coin Zcash Drops 20% as Core Dev Team Departs Electric Coin Company - Gizmodo","type":"news_article","url":"https://gizmodo.com/privacy-coin-zcash-drops-20-as-core-dev-team-departs-electric-coin-company-2000707755"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Entire Zcash Development Team Quits Electric Coin Company After Governance Dispute - Brave New Coin","type":"news_article","url":"https://bravenewcoin.com/insights/entire-zcash-development-team-quits-electric-coin-company-after-governance-dispute"}]},{"content":"On August 31, 2023, the Zcash Foundation received a formal subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with an inquiry designated 'In the Matter of Certain Crypto Asset Offerings (SF-04569).' The investigation focused on whether Zcash-related token distribution, funding structures, or governance arrangements could constitute unregistered securities offerings under U.S. law. The existence of the investigation was not publicly disclosed at the time of the subpoena and remained confidential for approximately two and a half years. On January 14, 2026, the Zcash Foundation published a notice stating that the SEC had informed it that the agency does not intend to recommend enforcement action or other changes against the Foundation in connection with the inquiry. The outcome was characterized by the Foundation as 'a legal victory' and reflected, in the Foundation's own words, 'our commitment to transparency and compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.' The announcement of the investigation's closure caused ZEC to rally approximately 10-14% in the short term.","heading":"SEC Investigation (2023-2026)","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Notice Concluding SEC Investigation - Zcash Foundation","type":"official","url":"https://zfnd.org/notice-concluding-sec-investigation/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"U.S. SEC closes Zcash Foundation probe with no enforcement action - Crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/sec-ends-zcash-foundation-probe-enforcement-2026/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC Clears Zcash Foundation as ZEC Rallies on Regulatory Relief - Yahoo Finance","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sec-clears-zcash-foundation-zec-182522062.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Zcash price soars after SEC scraps investigation into privacy coin - DL News","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/markets/zcash-pumps-after-sec-terminates-probe-into-foundation/"}]},{"content":"In September 2023, mining pool ViaBTC was reported to control approximately 51-53% of Zcash's total network hash rate. Coinbase's blockchain security team publicly flagged the concentration on September 15, 2023, warning that single-entity control over a majority of a proof-of-work network's hashing power can enable double-spend attacks and other manipulation. In response, Coinbase increased the required confirmation depth for ZEC deposits from approximately 18 to 110 blocks (extending deposit times from about 40 minutes to roughly 2.5 hours) and placed ZEC in a 'limit-only' trading state to reduce price volatility. ViaBTC responded by clarifying that it does not own the hashrate connected to its platform — the hash power belongs to third-party miners who directed their equipment to ViaBTC's pool — and that the concentration was temporary. The Electric Coin Company noted that Zcash's open-source nature means no single organization controls the protocol, and pointed to its Trailing Finality Layer (TFL) proposal as a longer-term solution to network finality concerns. The concentration returned to normal levels subsequently, though no successful 51% attack was reported.","heading":"51% Hash Rate Concentration Risk (September 2023)","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Mining pool ViaBTC controls over 51% of Zcash hash rate - Blockworks","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockworks.com/news/zcash-privacy-coin-mining-pool-51-percent-hashing-power"},{"credibility":2,"name":"ZCash In Danger of 51% Attack as ViaBTC Takes Control — Coinbase Takes Action - CCN","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.ccn.com/news/zcash-in-danger-of-viabtc-51-attack-coinbase-takes-action/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Coinbase takes precautions as mining pool captures half of Zcash hash rate - The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/251974/coinbase-takes-precautions-as-mining-pool-captures-half-of-zcash-hash-rate"}]},{"content":"Zcash has faced exchange delistings across multiple jurisdictions due to anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulatory requirements. Japan's Financial Services Agency effectively required domestic exchanges to delist privacy coins in 2018 citing AML obligations. South Korea's Financial Services Commission directed domestic exchanges to stop listing privacy coins in January 2020. In 2024, privacy coins including ZEC experienced approximately 60 exchange removals globally, the highest count since 2021, driven in part by requirements under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which reached full application in December 2024. MiCA does not explicitly ban privacy coins, but requires crypto asset service providers to identify the sender and receiver of every transaction, a requirement that conflicts with fully shielded Zcash transactions. Binance placed ZEC in a community 'Vote to Delist' campaign in April 2025; ZEC received 8.6% of votes, the second-highest tally after FTX Token. Binance stated the vote was one factor among several, not a definitive outcome, and no immediate delisting followed. Zcash's optional privacy architecture — where transparent addresses expose transaction data similarly to Bitcoin — has helped it retain listings on Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, and OKX in most jurisdictions where Monero has been delisted. Industry figures including Digital Currency Group founder Barry Silbert and Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet publicly criticized Binance's inclusion of ZEC in the delisting vote.","heading":"Exchange Delistings and Regulatory Pressure","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Monero (XMR), ZCash (ZEC) and Other Privacy Coins Face Highest Delisting in 2024 - Coinspeaker","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coinspeaker.com/monero-xmr-zcash-zec-privacy-coins-delisting/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Privacy coins Zcash and Monero face delisting by crypto exchanges - Blockworks","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-exchanges-delisting-privacy-coins"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Industry Heavyweights Weigh in on Binance's Potential Zcash delisting - CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/04/15/binance-s-potential-zcash-delisting-met-with-dismay-from-industry-heavyweights"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Binance adds ZCash (ZEC) to delisting vote, angers crypto privacy supporters - Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/binance-adds-zcash-to-delisting-vote/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"10 Countries Restricting Privacy Coins Like Monero and Zcash in 2026 - CCN","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.ccn.com/education/crypto/countries-banning-privacy-coins-monero-zcash-2026/"}]},{"content":"A 2020 research report commissioned by the Electric Coin Company and conducted by RAND Europe found no evidence of widespread illicit use of Zcash. The report examined Zcash usage in money laundering, trade in illicit goods and services, and terrorism financing. Among dark web markets that accepted cryptocurrency, only 1% accepted Zcash, compared to 59% for Bitcoin, 27% for Monero, 12% for Ether, and 1% for Litecoin. The report concluded that Zcash is 'seen as a less attractive option to dark web users' and is used less frequently for illicit purposes than Bitcoin. Notably, the report was funded by ECC, which represents a potential conflict of interest that may affect its independence, though RAND Europe is a credentialed research institution. Separately, the fact that Zcash's privacy features are optional (most transactions historically have used transparent addresses) means blockchain analytics firms can often trace a significant portion of ZEC flows.","heading":"Illicit Use Research","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Exploring the use of Zcash cryptocurrency for illicit or criminal purposes - RAND Europe","type":"research","url":"https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR4418.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Bitcoin still favored by criminals, says Zcash-funded Rand report - Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/27925/bitcoin-still-favored-by-criminals-zcash-rand-report"}]},{"content":"Zcash has undergone several major protocol upgrades since launch. The Sapling upgrade (October 2018) significantly improved the efficiency of shielded transactions, addressed the counterfeiting vulnerability, and expanded practical use of privacy features on mobile and exchange platforms. The Blossom upgrade adjusted block times to 75 seconds. The Canopy upgrade (November 2020) restructured the post-Founders'-Reward development funding allocation. Network Upgrade 5 (NU5, May 2022) introduced the Orchard shielded protocol, which uses the Halo 2 proving system — a zk-SNARK that requires no trusted setup, eliminating the class of vulnerability that affected Sprout and Sapling. As of late 2025, approximately 4.8 million ZEC (about 29.4% of circulating supply) was held in shielded pools, with the Orchard pool accounting for the majority. The Sprout pool, the original 2016 shielded pool, holds only approximately 25,591 ZEC and is effectively deprecated. Zcash's codebase is fully open-source. The protocol has been audited by academic cryptographers, and the Halo 2 proving system has been reviewed by Kudelski Security Research. ECC has published detailed technical blog posts and the Zcash protocol specification is publicly available.","heading":"Protocol Upgrades and Trust Signals","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Technical explainer: Halo on Zcash - Electric Coin Company","type":"official","url":"https://electriccoin.co/blog/technical-explainer-halo-on-zcash/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"What Are Zcash Shielded Pools and How Have They Evolved? - Gemini Cryptopedia","type":"other","url":"https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/what-are-zcash-shielded-pools-and-how-have-they-evolved"},{"credibility":2,"name":"On the Security of Halo2 Proof System - Kudelski Security Research Center","type":"research","url":"https://kudelskisecurity.com/research/on-the-security-of-halo2-proof-system"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Zcash's Breakout and the Revival of On-Chain Privacy - Coin Metrics","type":"research","url":"https://coinmetrics.substack.com/p/state-of-the-network-issue-338"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Zcash - Wikipedia","type":"other","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zcash"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Notice Concluding SEC Investigation - Zcash Foundation","type":"official","url":"https://zfnd.org/notice-concluding-sec-investigation/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Critical Zcash Bug Could Have Allowed Infinite Counterfeit Cryptocurrency - The Hacker News","type":"news_article","url":"https://thehackernews.com/2019/02/zcash-cryptocurrency-hack.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Zcash Counterfeiting Vulnerability Successfully Remediated - Zcash blog","type":"official","url":"https://bitzecbzc.github.io/blog/zcash-counterfeiting-vulnerability-successfully-remediated/index.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"A critical counterfeiting vulnerability addressed in Zcash - Security Affairs","type":"news_article","url":"https://securityaffairs.com/80756/hacking/zcash-counterfeiting-flaw.html"},{"credibility":1,"name":"ZEC News: Zcash developer team behind ECC quits - CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/01/08/zcash-developer-team-behind-ecc-quits-after-governance-clash-with-bootstrap-board"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Zcash developers quit, form new company after board clash - The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/384737/zcash-developers-form-new-company"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Privacy Coin Zcash Drops 20% as Core Dev Team Departs - Gizmodo","type":"news_article","url":"https://gizmodo.com/privacy-coin-zcash-drops-20-as-core-dev-team-departs-electric-coin-company-2000707755"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Entire Zcash Development Team Quits ECC After Governance Dispute - Brave New Coin","type":"news_article","url":"https://bravenewcoin.com/insights/entire-zcash-development-team-quits-electric-coin-company-after-governance-dispute"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Mining pool ViaBTC controls over 51% of Zcash hash rate - Blockworks","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockworks.com/news/zcash-privacy-coin-mining-pool-51-percent-hashing-power"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Coinbase takes precautions as mining pool captures half of Zcash hash rate - The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/251974/coinbase-takes-precautions-as-mining-pool-captures-half-of-zcash-hash-rate"},{"credibility":1,"name":"ZIP 1014: Establishing a Dev Fund for ECC, ZF, and Major Grants","type":"official","url":"https://zips.z.cash/zip-1014"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Exploring the use of Zcash for illicit or criminal purposes - RAND Europe","type":"research","url":"https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR4418.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Bitcoin still favored by criminals, says Zcash-funded Rand report - Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/27925/bitcoin-still-favored-by-criminals-zcash-rand-report"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Industry Heavyweights Weigh in on Binance's Potential Zcash delisting - CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/04/15/binance-s-potential-zcash-delisting-met-with-dismay-from-industry-heavyweights"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Privacy coins Zcash and Monero face delisting by crypto exchanges - Blockworks","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-exchanges-delisting-privacy-coins"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Monero (XMR), ZCash (ZEC) and Other Privacy Coins Face Highest Delisting in 2024 - Coinspeaker","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coinspeaker.com/monero-xmr-zcash-zec-privacy-coins-delisting/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Edward Snowden revealed as John Dobbertin - PR Newswire","type":"official","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/edward-snowden-revealed-as-john-dobbertin---the-final-pseudonymous-member-of-2016s-setup-process-for-privacy-preserving-cryptocurrency-zcash-confirmed-in-zcash-medias-latest-video-301534963.html"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Edward Snowden says he was the mystery man involved in the creation of Zcash - Fortune","type":"news_article","url":"https://fortune.com/2022/04/28/edward-snowden-crypto-zcash/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC Clears Zcash Foundation as ZEC Rallies - Yahoo Finance","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sec-clears-zcash-foundation-zec-182522062.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Technical explainer: Halo on Zcash - Electric Coin Company","type":"official","url":"https://electriccoin.co/blog/technical-explainer-halo-on-zcash/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"On the Security of Halo2 Proof System - Kudelski Security Research Center","type":"research","url":"https://kudelskisecurity.com/research/on-the-security-of-halo2-proof-system"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Zcash ZEC Tokenomics Deep Dive - Unlocks","type":"research","url":"https://insights.unlocks.app/zcash-zec-tokenomics-deep-dive-from-controversial-founders-reward-to-community-governance/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"What Does Crypto Care if Zooko Is a Millionaire? - CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2018/07/01/what-does-crypto-care-if-zooko-is-a-millionaire"},{"credibility":2,"name":"10 Countries Restricting Privacy Coins Like Monero and Zcash in 2026 - CCN","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.ccn.com/education/crypto/countries-banning-privacy-coins-monero-zcash-2026/"}],"summary":"Zcash (ZEC) is a privacy-focused proof-of-work cryptocurrency launched on October 28, 2016, notable as one of the first large-scale deployments of zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs) outside academia. The project has a transparent organizational history, credentialed academic founders, and a resolved SEC investigation, but has faced significant controversies including a critical counterfeiting vulnerability disclosed in 2019, ongoing governance disputes that caused the entire Electric Coin Company development team to resign in January 2026, and regulatory pressure in multiple jurisdictions resulting in exchange delistings.","timeline":[{"date":"2013-01-01","event":"Academic research into the Zerocoin protocol begins at Johns Hopkins University under Matthew Green, Ian Miers, and Christina Garman.","source":"Zcash - Wikipedia","source_url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zcash"},{"date":"2015-01-01","event":"Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn forms the Zerocoin Electric Coin Company (later Electric Coin Company) to develop the Zcash protocol.","source":"Who created Zcash? - Z.Cash","source_url":"https://z.cash/learn/who-created-zcash/"},{"date":"2016-10-28","event":"Zcash mainnet launches with the Sprout protocol. Six participants conduct a trusted setup ceremony to generate zk-SNARK parameters; one participant uses the pseudonym 'John Dobbertin.'","source":"Zcash - Wikipedia","source_url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zcash"},{"date":"2018-03-01","event":"ECC employee Ariel Gabizon discovers a critical vulnerability allowing infinite counterfeit shielded ZEC creation via the original MPC ceremony transcript. The discovery is kept confidential.","source":"Critical Zcash Bug Could Have Allowed Infinite Counterfeit Cryptocurrency - The Hacker News","source_url":"https://thehackernews.com/2019/02/zcash-cryptocurrency-hack.html"},{"date":"2018-10-28","event":"Sapling network upgrade activates, covertly patching the counterfeiting vulnerability and significantly improving shielded transaction efficiency.","source":"Zcash Counterfeiting Vulnerability Successfully Remediated - Zcash blog","source_url":"https://bitzecbzc.github.io/blog/zcash-counterfeiting-vulnerability-successfully-remediated/index.html"},{"date":"2019-02-05","event":"Electric Coin Company publicly discloses the counterfeiting vulnerability, approximately seven months after its discovery and four months after the patch was deployed.","source":"A critical counterfeiting vulnerability addressed in Zcash - Security Affairs","source_url":"https://securityaffairs.com/80756/hacking/zcash-counterfeiting-flaw.html"},{"date":"2019-02-21","event":"The Zcash Company rebrands as the Electric Coin Company (ECC).","source":"Zcash - Wikipedia","source_url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zcash"},{"date":"2020-11-01","event":"Canopy network upgrade activates. The original four-year Founders' Reward expires. ZIP 1014 takes effect, directing 20% of block rewards to ECC (7%), Zcash Foundation (5%), and Major Grants (8%).","source":"ZIP 1014: Establishing a Dev Fund for ECC, ZF, and Major Grants","source_url":"https://zips.z.cash/zip-1014"},{"date":"2020-01-01","event":"Electric Coin Company becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bootstrap Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.","source":"Zcash - Wikipedia","source_url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zcash"},{"date":"2022-04-27","event":"Zcash Media reveals that Edward Snowden participated in the 2016 trusted setup ceremony under the pseudonym 'John Dobbertin.' Snowden confirms this in an exclusive interview.","source":"Edward Snowden revealed as John Dobbertin - PR Newswire","source_url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/edward-snowden-revealed-as-john-dobbertin---the-final-pseudonymous-member-of-2016s-setup-process-for-privacy-preserving-cryptocurrency-zcash-confirmed-in-zcash-medias-latest-video-301534963.html"},{"date":"2022-05-01","event":"Network Upgrade 5 (NU5) activates, introducing the Orchard shielded protocol and the Halo 2 proving system, which requires no trusted setup.","source":"Technical explainer: Halo on Zcash - Electric Coin Company","source_url":"https://electriccoin.co/blog/technical-explainer-halo-on-zcash/"},{"date":"2023-08-31","event":"The Zcash Foundation receives a formal SEC subpoena under the inquiry 'In the Matter of Certain Crypto Asset Offerings (SF-04569).' The existence of the investigation is not publicly disclosed at this time.","source":"Notice Concluding SEC Investigation - Zcash Foundation","source_url":"https://zfnd.org/notice-concluding-sec-investigation/"},{"date":"2023-09-15","event":"Coinbase flags that mining pool ViaBTC controls over 51% of Zcash's network hash rate (peaking at approximately 53%). Coinbase increases ZEC deposit confirmation requirements and restricts trading to limit-only.","source":"Mining pool ViaBTC controls over 51% of Zcash hash rate - Blockworks","source_url":"https://blockworks.com/news/zcash-privacy-coin-mining-pool-51-percent-hashing-power"},{"date":"2023-12-18","event":"Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn steps down as CEO of the Electric Coin Company; Josh Swihart succeeds him.","source":"Zcash Developer Team Resigns - Yahoo Finance","source_url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zcash-developer-team-resigns-governance-100044870.html"},{"date":"2025-04-10","event":"Binance includes ZEC in a 'Vote to Delist' community campaign. ZEC receives 8.6% of votes (second-highest), drawing industry criticism. Binance states the vote is not the sole determinant of delisting decisions.","source":"Industry Heavyweights Weigh in on Binance's Potential Zcash delisting - CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/04/15/binance-s-potential-zcash-delisting-met-with-dismay-from-industry-heavyweights"},{"date":"2026-01-07","event":"The entire Electric Coin Company development team resigns following an alleged governance dispute with Bootstrap board members Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai. ZEC falls approximately 14-20%.","source":"ZEC News: Zcash developer team behind ECC quits after governance clash with Bootstrap board - CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/01/08/zcash-developer-team-behind-ecc-quits-after-governance-clash-with-bootstrap-board"},{"date":"2026-01-14","event":"Zcash Foundation publicly discloses that the SEC closed its two-and-a-half-year investigation without recommending enforcement action or changes. ZEC rallies approximately 10-14%.","source":"Notice Concluding SEC Investigation - Zcash Foundation","source_url":"https://zfnd.org/notice-concluding-sec-investigation/"}]},"v":1}