Zcash Open Development Lab Raises More Than $25 Million in Seed Round

Zcash is a cryptocurrency that uses zero-knowledge proofs to enable private transactions, with Electric Coin Company (ECC) long responsible for its core development. In January 2026, governance disagreements led to a split between ECC and its oversight organization, Bootstrap. Former CEO Josh Swihart then formed Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL) with the engineering and product teams. Their ability to continue developing the protocol and wallet is critical to the stability of the Zcash ecosystem.

ZODL announced on March 9, 2026, that it had raised more than $25 million in a seed round backed by Paradigm, a16z crypto, Winklevoss Capital and Coinbase Ventures. The funding will support hiring and expanded development of the Zcash protocol and Zodl, its self-custody mobile wallet. The team said the wallet had helped the shielded pool grow by more than 400% since its 2024 launch.