New Zcash wallet aims to restore cypherpunk values and accelerate scaling
Zcash developers who recently departed the Electric Coin Company have announced plans to launch a new wallet called cashZ, signaling a renewed push toward cypherpunk principles and faster development. The announcement came less than 24 hours after the team’s public exit, underscoring their intention to remain fully committed to the Zcash ecosystem.
” said former ECC CEO Josh Swihart late on Thursday;
The upcoming cashZ wallet is built on the same codebase as the existing Zashi wallet, allowing users to migrate seamlessly. The developers confirmed that the wallet will be released within a few weeks, with early interest already strong as more than 3,800 users have signed up. Importantly, the team emphasized that no new token is being launched, and the focus remains solely on scaling Zcash.

The split followed a governance dispute involving nonprofit oversight and organizational constraints. According to the developers, Zcash is inherently cypherpunk, requiring an agile structure capable of defending privacy as a default right. They argued that nonprofit bureaucracy slows innovation, while startups are better suited to compete at scale.
Following the upheaval, ZEC fell more than 21%, briefly dropping below $400 before recovering toward $430. Despite the bounce, the token remains 86% below its 2016 all-time high and significantly under its 2025 peak.
With a new organizational structure and wallet underway, the developers aim to position Zcash to compete more effectively with major blockchain networks while reaffirming its role as a privacy-first digital cash system.
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