This is the structural upgrade the ecosystem needs.
To prevent any wallet from becoming essential infrastructure — a single choke point — we must commoditize the client layer.
A white-label reference implementation (Rust core + Tauri harness as a generic, modular public good) achieves exactly that: it turns the interface from a branded product (with liability and gatekeeping) into a true utility.
Anyone can then build, skin, or fork alternatives with minimal friction. Redundancy becomes inevitable.
Imo it is essential for bootstrap to relinquish the control of Zashi over to the newly formed company.
All the energy that has gone into that product, which has been a major driver of Zcash adoption, it would be a massive setback to the mission to kill the momentum and start again with a new wallet
To the Bootstrap - Board
Privatizing the Gains and Socializing the losses!
Continued Engagement: The Zcash Community Forum will remain a hub for ongoing discussions, ensuring transparency and inclusivity as the new model takes shape. Community members are encouraged to stay involved and share their perspectives.
The Bootstrap Foundation entity ECC have received huge amounts of zec from the Zcash Blockchain for zcash development.
The Bootstrap Board -
Should not relinquish any ECC assets or infrastructure.
Should immediately hire a new team and take full control of ECC
Should enforce any contracts in place.
If there is and was such a separation of Zcash Mission execution between the Board & the CEO. How can any public foundation have its employees and assets taken with no community discussion, no community update, where did all the funds for this development come from? This is a major ego trip on the highest level!
The Bootstrap Foundation needs to communicate with the Zcash Community of its new action plan!
Maybe Bootstrap could simply “free” the ECC company (with all its IPs) and relinquish its control to the devs who want to take part of the board as shareholders. No need of new companies or IP transfers.
Exactly! Is this what it’s essentially all about? I don’t believe anything Josh has said! The community needs to hear what exactly happened! We have invested our time and money into this project - many have done it for years, the Bootstrap board needs to come out and communicate openly about what happened and what are the next steps! This has not been done properly! You think some blog posting is enough?? No, it is not enough! We need continuous and open discussion about what happened and what will happen next! Zcash is nothing without its community and many are very tired of these continuous governance battles! There is enough drama in the World already, nobody wants to have more drama in their lives!
So, STEP UP and start a dialogue with the community! WHAT exactly happened - give us ALL the details! What are the next remedial steps you are planning to take now?? Speak UP!
The fact that you think that any team can just take over Zashi and do a decent job with it, tells me how little you understand what it takes to build and grow a product like that.
Zashi would just die in ZCAM’s (Zaki, Christina, Alan, Ml) hands.
I have read Josh Swihart’s tweet about the situation, I have visited the new cashz website and read everything there, I have seen Zaki Manian’s tweet about the situation - read the blog posting he shared a link to. I still don’t have a clue what actually happened.
What I do know on the other hand - as a long time Zcash community member is this: Zcash may be 1000x times better than Bitcoin or any other coin out there. However, this DOES not matter anything if the adoption is not there! Governance battles like this are not helping Zcash adoption - it’s the opposite - people will avoid Zcash when they learn about these battles. Bitcoin has been adopted by the masses even if it is not the most advanced or private cryptocoin. You will NEVER beat bitcoin if you keep on acting like this! You will never reach the masses. Majority of the people don’t want to see this kind of a drama in the lives. Believe it or not. This is working against the Zcash adoption and it will eventually kill the project.
I want to make clear that the ECC employees have not been “taken” from anyone. After @joshs was suspended from his role as CEO by the board and @tonym was instructed to dump a significant fraction of the ECC ZEC treasury for USD (as is now publicly documented by Responding to Concerns | We Are All Zashi ), I and others on the ECC team lost faith in the ability and interest of the Bootstrap board members to reach an agreement that provided continuity of service for the Zashi users.
The team that built Zashi remains utterly committed to that cause, and we’re doing everything in our power to ensure that the Zashi users are protected, both now and in the future. Bugs need fixing, new features need developing, and the team that built Zashi into the app that it is needs the ability to continue supporting it.
Josh has earned my trust over a number of years, through thin times and respecting the autonomy of the development team, giving us freedom to speak when Zooko did not. The former Bootstrap board never earned that kind of trust.
Hi @nuttycom,
Did you lose faith over the course of one meeting? Did you and the team find it difficult to reach an agreement over weeks of discussions? Where and when did the former CEO of ECC or you (@nuttycom) voice your concerns of the direction to execute ECC technical development plans and market growth with the Zcash Community?
As you, @nuttycom are fully aware of the amount of time and effort in 2025 went into discussions of Zcash Blockchain development fund and the choices of the ECC leadership towards this stream of funding. Where did you or any of your members discuss the potential challenges with the Bootstrap Board and Zcash Community?
Let us also discuss in open day light that former ECC team members are either employees or contractors to Electric Coin Company an entity of the Bootstrap Foundation located in the USA. The Zcash Community Consensus formalized in numerous zips placed confidence and trust in enormous sums of ZEC into funding the development of Zcash Blockchain protocol development and Zcash software development tools for humanity, by paying the salaries of employees or contractors to the Electric Coin Company. The former ECC team have every right of choice to quit their employment or break their employment contract with ECC. However, to think employees or contractors own the software development tools which have been financed by the Zcash Community and to walk out on mass is not only a sign of the collective character but a slap in the face to the trust and confidence through years of consensus building inside the Zcash Community.
You show the Zcash Community where you or any former ECC team member voiced your profound Zcash Mission Execution fears were posted publicly?
We’re not. We were all constructively dismissed. With the exception of Paul Brigner (who is claimed by ZCAM to have been dismissed from the board; that is disputed, but in any case he is still an employee of ECC), we are all instead now employees or contractors at the new company headed by Josh.
If the ECC received income from swaps executed via Zashi to the amount specified in the announcement:
The Zashi wallet has an annual revenue run rate of $4m to $5m, based on the revenue it generated in Q4 2025. This revenue is from fees on NEAR Intents swaps/crosspays.
why is it that the ECC also applied for a retroactive grant for 2+ million $ without divulging this information?
Probably you can’t answer, I know, but is the new company already founded? With all shareholders formally defined? Are shares offered to all former ECC devs?
I will address what they posted and we will provide additional detail when I am able. This is a legal matter. I am cognizant of the public confusion their post has caused and the desire for clarity. I have always been highly transparent and will continue to be.
I can say that the team are on solid footing, building Zcash as we always have, and continuing to provide support for Zashi users.
This week, we had a great in-person summit with over 20 Zcash community leaders and builders - there is much to be excited about.
I think the public confusion comes from all sides rather than just a single post/author.
Having said that, I don’t see a point in either party trying to win in the “public opinion’s court”. Yes, Zashi is a great brand, but it’s still irrelevant to what the future holds. Makes no sense to put the broader mission in peril for it.
So I will do what I’m asking and refrain from amplifying this matter. Let’s get back to building…
Community deserve answers. Do not fund unethical behavior. No lockbox and dev fund grants should be given to anybody involved until situation is resolved.
