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Former Electric Coin Company Cryptographers Launch New Zcash Wallet

Former Electric Coin Company Cryptographers Launch New Zcash Wallet

The entire Electric Coin Company team reportedly resigned over a dispute involving privatizing the Zashi wallet, triggering a sharp ZEC price drop and accelerating plans for the new CashZ wallet launch.

ZEC

Fact Check
The assessment is "likely_true" with high confidence based on strong, consistent, and direct evidence from multiple credible sources. Several high-authority and highly relevant sources directly confirm all parts of the statement. Primary news reports from reputable crypto outlets The Block and CryptoRank explicitly state that former cryptographers from the Electric Coin Company have launched a new wallet for Zcash. The Block's reporting is further reinforced by their official X (Twitter) account.Corroborating evidence comes from high-authority individuals. Zooko Wilcox, the founder of the Electric Coin Company, confirmed the team's departure to start a new venture. Prominent investor Naval Ravikant also confirmed the team is forming a new structure to continue building for Zcash. While these sources don't specifically mention a "wallet," they validate the core premise of the departed team launching a new Zcash-related project, which aligns perfectly with the news reports.There are no contradictions in the provided evidence. Sources with lower relevance provide background context on the team's departure and the preceding governance dispute but do not refute the claim of a new wallet launch. The consistency across multiple independent news reports and the contextual support from key figures in the industry provide a strong basis for the statement's truthfulness.
Summary

On January 7, the entire Electric Coin Company team—about 25 members including the CEO—reportedly resigned from Zcash following a conflict over privatizing the Zashi wallet. ZEC fell roughly 20% after the news. The departing members said they plan to launch a new wallet, CashZ, using Zashi’s codebase within weeks, reinforcing the project’s shift toward an independent wallet initiative.

Terms & Concepts
  • Zcash: A privacy-focused cryptocurrency that uses zero-knowledge proofs to enable shielded transactions.
  • Zashi: A wallet codebase at the center of a dispute over privatization, which the departing Electric Coin Company team plans to reuse for the new CashZ wallet.
  • ZEC: The native cryptocurrency of the Zcash network, which reportedly dropped about 20% after news of the Electric Coin Company team’s resignation.