2026-01-09 08:24:51

Privacy technology is set to explode in 2025, with Zcash achieving a remarkable 1200% surge. However, beneath the surface of prosperity, this leading privacy coin has taken a big hit in governance issues.

On January 8th, Josh Swihart, CEO of Electric Coin Company (ECC), the core developer of Zcash, announced shocking news — the entire ECC team was forced to resign collectively. This is not a routine personnel adjustment but a passive "presumed dismissal." In legal terms, it means employees were forced to leave due to a hostile work environment and various pressures.

Who is being targeted? Directly pointing to Bootstrap — a non-profit organization registered under the U.S. 501(c)(3) regulations.

This move caused quite a stir in the market. The price of ZEC plummeted 20% in a short period, even briefly falling below $400, but has since rebounded above $440.

From the revival of privacy coins to the core team leaving en masse due to governance conflicts, Zcash's experience reflects the real challenges faced by Web3 projects in decentralized governance. When ideal governance mechanisms encounter practical conflicts of interest, the result is often ecosystem fragmentation and shaken confidence.

ZEC-1.28%

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BlockDetective

· 01-12 05:54

Another joke about decentralized governance: the team leaves and the coin still drops. This is the reality of Web3.

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ApeEscapeArtist

· 01-11 23:33

This is the true face of Web3 governance—ideals are lofty, but reality is harsh.

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AirdropHustler

· 01-11 13:13

A 1200% surge and then the team disbands; decentralized governance really can't be played with. --- Bootstrap methods are a bit harsh, creating a hostile environment to force resignations— isn't this just a disguised purge? --- I knew it, the rebound of privacy coins is just that— the messy debts behind will eventually be cleared. --- A 20% plunge is nothing; what’s really heartbreaking is the collective departure of the core development team— this signal is too ominous. --- Decentralized governance sounds great, but in reality, it’s just big players fighting each other while retail investors take the fall. --- ZEC’s recent moves have caused chaos everywhere; who would still trust this governance framework? --- A 1200% increase is useless; losing the team is the real problem. --- Can non-profit organizations play like this? Legal attack hits are really ruthless.

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MeetFate

· 01-09 09:18

Laozi got scammed by this dog coin

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0xSleepDeprived

· 01-09 08:51

Oh no, internal conflicts again. That's just how privacy coin circles play... --- A 1200% increase was messed up by their own people, hilarious. --- Decentralized governance has really become "who's better at playing politics," huh? --- ECC all resigning? Bootstrap's move is pretty ruthless... --- The recent drop in ZEC is a sign of a confidence crisis, those who understand, understand. --- Once again, non-profit organizations causing trouble. I've seen this routine too many times. --- Beneath the surface of prosperity, it's all bad debts—classic Web3 common problem. --- The core development team has all left; who will maintain it going forward? --- Governance issues are more deadly than technical problems, always the same. --- So, who is truly in the right, or are they all just so-so?

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CryptoSourGrape

· 01-09 08:50

If only I hadn't been blinded by the 1200% back then, I would have seen that the governance has already become a mess...

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SelfMadeRuggee

· 01-09 08:50

A 1200% surge turned into governance dragging it down, this is the reality of decentralization. --- Did the entire team have to resign collectively? How nasty does internal conflict have to be to end up like this? --- Another story where idealism clashes with real-world interests and exposes its true nature. --- Privacy coins became popular but ended up exploding due to internal sabotage. Web3 really can have all kinds of bizarre incidents. --- ZEC dropped directly from a 1200% increase to a 20% decline, the contrast is quite significant. --- Decentralized governance, in essence, is just a group of people bickering, ultimately harming the project. --- That’s why I’ve always been skeptical of self-congratulatory decentralization. --- What is bootstrap trying to do? Drive ECC out completely and take over as the boss? --- Now I understand why some projects prefer to retain centralized power—because this stuff is too easy to get messed up. --- Privacy coins have been really popular in the past two years, but once this incident happened, confidence probably took a big hit.

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ForkLibertarian

· 01-09 08:45

A 1200% increase just disappeared, so ironic This is the result of decentralized governance, a group of people fighting each other until the project dies ECC all leaving? Bootstrap, are you planning to play alone? No matter how strong the privacy coin concept is, it can't save internal conflicts. Watching ZEC drop is quite painful Poor governance > cutting-edge technology is useless, this lesson must be remembered How did decentralization become about everyone doing their own thing... Sigh ZEC, this pit, would you dare to touch it again next time?

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SeasonedInvestor

· 01-09 08:34

Wow, 1200% and you can still play like this? Decentralized governance is just a joke.

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