"To put the upside in perspective, estimates of undeclared offshore wealth are at least $10 trillion.
If private digital money captures even 1% of that value, you’re talking about a $100 billion network.
If it captures 10%, you’re talking $1 trillion. The problem Zcash targets is not niche, but the market currently assumes it is."
I'm really excited that the legendary team at ECC is regrouping under a new structure, so that they can continue to build for Zcash without the shackles of Bootstrap's broken and misaligned nonprofit corporate structure. The potential unlock here is enormous.
ECC transitioned to a nonprofit in a roundabout way, requiring shareholders to collectively donate equity to a new nonprofit (Bootstrap) that governed ECC. During this process, to win support from donors Bootstrap's board took on a strong oversight role to protect their interests and control.
I remember as an engineer at ECC that the entire process was annoying and confusing, and I didn't pay much attention to it. It was odd to me that the shareholders thought they were "donating" anything to begin with: the real assets at ECC were the team of engineers and cryptographers actually building Zcash, and our loyalty to the mission. From my perspective they spent months spilling ink and hiring lawyers to negotiate something that they ultimately had zero control over.
We were not slaves, and we would leave if we felt we could build Zcash better under a different structure. Well, that's exactly what happened a couple days ago. The board may have meant perfectly well in fulfilling their oversight role, but ultimately their risk aversion was completely misaligned with what builders at ECC felt was necessary to make Zcash successful.
I left ECC over a year ago, not because of these issues with Bootstrap or any disagreements with their team, but because I *could* independently build what I felt was right for Zcash. That was only possible because Zcash has matured and decentralized so much as a project.
Now, the former team at ECC will be regrouping under Josh's excellent leadership for the same reason. Shed these useless corporate structures whenever they hold you back, they only exist as tools and legal vehicles for group coordination.
The former team at ECC wisely chose not to hesitate any longer. I know they're going to kick major ass, and I remain dangerously long on ZEC because of it.
Cypherpunk has accumulated an additional 29,869 ZEC for $18 million at an average price of ~$603 per ZEC.
As of 11/18/25, we ZODL ~1.43% of the network.
Onward.
wow, the winklevoss twins have started the first ZEC DAT!
id expect a higher mnav and buy pressure for a privacy coin DAT since not legal to hold in many regions
would expect an ETF as well
shielded/unshielded will act as a trojan horse for privacy at planetary scale