Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL) has secured over $25 million in funding. This milestone signals strong investor confidence in the growing worldwide adoption of shielded ZEC as digital private money.
The raise includes participation from Paradigm, a16z crypto, Winklevoss Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Cypherpunk Technologies, Maelstrom, Chapter One, Balaji Srinivasan, David Friedberg, Haseeb Qureshi, Mert, James Nicholas, and a group of leading angels across crypto and technology.
ZODL was founded by Josh Swihart, former CEO of Electric Coin Company (ECC). Under his leadership, ECC launched the flagship Zcash wallet Zodl (formerly Zashi), setting a new standard for Zcash usability. Since its launch in 2024, the app has driven growth in the Zcash shielded pool by over 400% and facilitated more than $600M in ZEC swaps since October.
Earlier this year, the entire ECC team, including the product team behind the wallet, joined Zcash Open Development Lab to continue building the primary user interface for Zcash. That work centers on developing Zodl as an open, self-custodial private financial platform designed to expand ecosystem interoperability through partnerships and bring shielded ZEC transactions to the global mainstream.
Zcash protocol development remains a core part of ZODL’s work. The engineers who designed, built, and maintained Zcash’s most critical systems at ECC have joined ZODL and continue that work with the same commitment and integrity the ecosystem has relied on for years. The team’s approach to protocol evolution is grounded in usability, ensuring technical advances support real demand and drive product-market fit for Zcash.
This fundraise positions ZODL for growth, including adding engineers and other talent, and reflects strong conviction from some of the most respected investors in crypto, not only in privacy as a principle, but in the continued growth of the Zcash ecosystem and the ZODL team.
Onward.
