Electric Coin Company Team Exits Bootstrap, Plans New Firm
Quick Breakdown
- The full Electric Coin Company team has exited Bootstrap and plans to form a new company
- Leadership disputes center on governance and mission alignment, not the Zcash protocol itself
- Zcash’s network remains fully operational, though the token has dipped nearly 7% on the day
The entire team behind Electric Coin Company (ECC), the core developer of privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash, has left Bootstrap, the nonprofit established to support the network, and is preparing to launch a new company, according to ECC CEO Josh Swihart.
Over the past few weeks, it’s become clear that the majority of Bootstrap board members (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created to support Zcash by governing the Electric Coin Company), specifically Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai (ZCAM), have moved into…
— Josh Swihart 🛡 (@jswihart) January 7, 2026
In a statement on Wednesday, Swihart said the decision followed weeks of growing tension with members of Bootstrap’s board, whom he accused of acting in ways that no longer aligned with Zcash’s founding mission. He named Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai (ZCAM) as board members at the center of the dispute.
Swihart said recent governance decisions effectively altered the team’s employment terms, making it impossible for ECC to continue its work “with integrity.” As a result, the entire ECC staff walked away from the nonprofit.
Despite the split, Swihart stressed that the team remains committed to Zcash’s original vision.
“
We’re founding a new company, but we’re still the same team with the same mission: building unstoppable private money,”
he said.
Zcash Network unaffected as governance dispute unfolds
Swihart emphasized that the Zcash protocol itself remains unaffected by the internal conflict. Zcash is open-source and permissionless, meaning no single organization owns or controls the network. Anyone can run a node, contribute to the codebase, or maintain a fork, ensuring the blockchain continues to operate independently of ECC or Bootstrap.
Former ECC CEO Zooko Wilcox, who stepped down in 2023, publicly defended the Bootstrap board. In a post on X, Wilcox said he had worked closely with the named board members for over a decade and described them as people of “exceptionally high integrity.”
Wilcox also reassured users that the dispute poses no risk to the network.
“
The Zcash network is open source, permissionless, secure, and private,”
he said, adding that users can continue to transact safely.
Zcash price slides amid uncertainty
Zcash (ZEC) fell nearly 7% over the past 24 hours, trading around $461 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko data. The token moved within a range of roughly $452 to $497 during the period.
Meanwhile, Grayscale Investments’ Zcash Trust (Ticker: $ZCSH) provided a regulated avenue for U.S. investors seeking exposure to Zcash ($ZEC).
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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