Zcash developer activity falls to lowest since 2021 amid governance dispute

Developer activity tied to the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash has dropped to its weakest level since November 2021, according to data from market intelligence firm Santiment, while the ZEC token has fallen about 40% over the past two months. Santiment shared the data in a Thursday post on X and said declining development effort can hold altcoins back, writing: "Historically, rising development activity leads to standout altcoins being able to emerge above the pack.

The opposite result holds true for those that 'let off the gas' and decline in their efforts to consistently innovate and improve." The slowdown comes amid a governance dispute between the Electric Coin Company (ECC), Zcash’s main development team, and Bootstrap, the non-profit supporting the protocol.

Cointelegraph reported that the ECC said it would separate from Bootstrap and form a new company, citing what it described as "malicious governance actions," while Bootstrap said board members had discussed "external investment and alternative structures to privatize" Zashi. ECC developers also announced they are working on a new wallet, cashZ, which they said is set to launch in a "few weeks." The Zcash Foundation responded to the incident by saying the protocol’s open-source codebase was designed for "resilience" so no single party can control the blockchain, writing that changes within organisations do not compromise the network's integrity.

Key Topics

Crypto, Zcash, Electric Coin Company, Bootstrap, Zec, Zcash Foundation