I feel moved to make a brief comment about the news that I just got that Josh Cincinnati is stepping down from E.D. of the Zcash Foundation.
Josh and I have had some disagreements—some of which were visible in the public discourse such as the disagreement about the trademark strategy—and some personal friction.
However, I believe that history judges a leader on their results, and all lesser considerations quickly recede from memory. Where is the Zcash Foundation—and the larger Zcash project—now and where was it when Josh first took up the task?
When Josh became the first ever employee of the Zcash Foundation, it had nothing but a great volunteer board of directors and donations in ZEC from me and others.
Three years later, the Foundation has substantial funds (in fiat and ZEC) and the Zcash community has awarded the Foundation with a generous donation of 5% of the next four years of coin issuance.
When Josh started, the Foundation had zero employees. Now under his leadership, it has attracted a great crew of skilled engineers.
Most importantly, the Zcash Foundation is now well-established as an independent and important voice in the Zcash community and its collective decision-making process, through the Foundation’s stewardship of the trademark under the trademark sharing agreement, and its management of processes like the Zcash Community Advisory Panel. As I’ve said before and as I continue to believe, the self-funding and community-led nature of the Zcash project is its greatest strength. The Foundation under Josh’s management has played a critical role in the evolution of Zcash so far.
I wish Josh the best personally and professionally going forward, and I want to say that as far as I am concerned, I expect to look back years from now to Josh’s tenure as a critical moment in history and as a success.
