Zcash

Zcash is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that originated from academic research in 2013, initially as the Zerocoin protocol-an experimental privacy extension for Bitcoin designed to allow anonymous transactions. Due to the computational intensity of the Zerocoin approach, the project evolved into Zerocash, and ultimately Zcash, with development led by Zooko Wilcox and the Electric Coin Company.

In 2015, the Zerocoin Electric Coin Company (ECC) was formally founded by Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn to build and commercialize the Zerocash protocol. In October 2016, Zcash was launched - it distinguished itself by implementing zk-proofs, specifically zk-SNARKs, enabling users to perform shielded transactions that conceal sender, recipient, and amount, while also supporting transparent transactions similar to Bitcoin. The project underwent a unique "trusted setup" ceremony to ensure the cryptographic integrity of its privacy features, and in 2017, the Zcash Foundation was established to further support the ecosystem.

By 2020, Zcash Major Grants program launched to fund independent developers and community projects. Canopy upgrade was also implemented, adjusting block rewards and improving governance. Additionally, in November, the first Zcash halving took place, where block rewards dropped from 6.25 to 3.125 ZEC. New dev fund slices started flowing (≈ 0.625 ZEC per block to the three recipients).

By May 2022, the Network Upgrade 5 (NU5) was activated on mainnet. The upgrade marked Zcash's largest protocol evolution since Sapling (2018), delivering three core improvements: Halo 2 eliminated trusted-setup requirements for zero-knowledge proofs, Orchard introduced a more efficient shielded payment system, and ZIP-224 overhauled the fee mechanism. The upgrade also concluded the original Dev Fund 1.0 at block 1,687,104, initiating a transition in ecosystem governance and funding.

By August 2023, the Zcash Foundation (ZF) and Electric Coin Co. (ECC) have decided to transition core Zcash protocol work from the original Zcash full node "zcashd" to a new implementation called Zebra.

In December 2023, Zooko Wilcox, the founder of Zcash, has stepped down from his role as CEO of Electric Coin Co. Josh Swihart, the SVP of Growth for Electric Coin Company, has been appointed as the new CEO.

By March 2024, the Zebra team announced the alpha release of the Zebra Launcher, a tool designed to facilitate the installation and operation of Zebra on widely used operating systems without necessitating command-line interactions or any prerequisites beyond the operating system itself. Furthermore, by November 2024, Zcash Foundation reorganized and rebranded; Electric Coin Co. underwent strategic refocus.

By March 2025, Zcash Foundation announced a leadership transition with the resignation of Executive Director Jack Gavigan.

By July 2025 gave way to a pivotal partnership between Zcash and NymVPN enabling shielded ZEC payments for anonymous VPN subscriptions and stimulating network activity.

In September 2025, Zashi CrossPay was launched. Zashi is a Zcash-powered self-custody wallet built by the privacy-obsessed developers of the Zcash protocol.

As of October 2025, Zcash also saw institutional interest, with Grayscale Zcash Trust (ZCSH) being the only solely Zcash-focused Trust.

In November 2025, Alex Bornstein was appointed as Executive Director, effective November 1, 2025. Furthermore, Pili Guerra was promoted to Head of Engineering, while Danika Delano was promoted to the position of COO. Additionally, the NU6.1 upgrade was released at block height 3146400.