ZEC -2.46% Amid Core Development Team Resignations

On JAN 9 2026, ZEC fell by 2.46% within 24 hours to reach $433.5, despite a 13.9% drop in the past week and a 15.6% decline in both the last month and year. The price movement follows a significant internal development crisis that has shaken investor confidence in the project.

Leadership Dispute Spawns Mass Resignation

The Electric Coin Company (ECC), a key development team within the Zcash ecosystem, saw its entire core development staff resign after internal governance disputes with Bootstrap, the nonprofit overseeing ECC operations. Josh Swihart, the former CEO of ECC, described the exit as a “constructive discharge,” asserting that changes to employment terms by the Bootstrap board had rendered the team unable to fulfill their roles effectively.

Swihart specifically cited board members Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai as having moved away from Zcash’s mission. The resignations signal a deep rift between the nonprofit and its core technical team, raising concerns over governance and project continuity.

New Entity to Continue Zcash Development

In the aftermath, the former ECC team announced the formation of a new for-profit company, CashZ, which will continue the development of Zcash tools and maintain the Zashi wallet codebase. Swihart emphasized that the Zcash protocol itself remains intact and open-source, and that the team’s decision was made to preserve the integrity of Zcash’s mission.

Despite the resignation, Zcash’s network has continued to operate normally. The CashZ wallet is set to serve as a direct continuation of the existing Zashi wallet, with plans for a smooth user migration.

Market Reaction and Investor Uncertainty

The resignations triggered immediate market concern, with ZEC falling to an intraday low of $381 on January 8. OnchainLens data revealed a panic liquidation by a large investor, who closed a ZEC long position after holding it for 67 days, incurring a $4.9 million loss. While the investor later reopened a smaller long position with high leverage, the broader market remained bearish.

Technical indicators reflect this downward pressure. ZEC is trading below both its 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA), limiting upside potential. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains at 39, signaling continued bearish momentum. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) also supports a cautious outlook as the histogram expands below the mean line.

Broader Implications for Governance in Crypto

The Zcash saga has reignited debates around the structure of crypto governance models. Swihart argued that nonprofit structures, while well-intended, often slow decision-making and implementation, particularly under heightened regulatory scrutiny. The ECC team’s move to form a for-profit entity suggests a preference for more agile and incentive-driven frameworks.

Other crypto projects have faced similar governance tensions between foundations and core developers, highlighting the broader challenge of balancing decentralization with operational efficiency.

Analysts Project Uncertain Near-Term Outlook

Analysts remain cautious about the near-term direction of ZEC. A sustained recovery would require a clear resolution of the governance dispute and renewed confidence in the project’s development trajectory. A close above the 50-day EMA at $469 could signal a potential reversal in sentiment, but the path remains uncertain given ongoing uncertainty around the project’s leadership and direction.