Zcash (ZEC) core developer Electric Coin Company (ECC) is facing a major upheaval. On January 8th, ECC CEO Josh Swihart publicly announced that the team has recently resigned collectively and plans to establish a new company. The root of this decision lies in a significant and ongoing divergence from the original project vision caused by its higher governance body, Bootstrap (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supporting Zcash).

What are the specific manifestations of the conflict? Over the past few weeks, the majority of Bootstrap's board members—including Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai of ZCAM—have been seriously misaligned with the core values of Zcash in decision-making. Josh pointed out that this disagreement has evolved into a substantive personnel conflict.

All ECC members resigned yesterday simultaneously, a situation described as a "de facto dismissal"—meaning that without directly firing employees, the terms of employment and working conditions were unilaterally changed, preventing the team from continuing to fulfill their duties while maintaining professionalism and technical integrity. In response to this situation, Josh emphasized that the ECC team will continue to develop Zcash under a new organizational framework, with the original team, maintaining the same technical standards and mission orientation.