- Zooko Wilcox, who co-founded Zcash and was CEO for 8 years, is stepping down from his role as CEO of the Electric Coin Company.
- Zooko’s resignation was completely amicable, and he will remain on the parent company’s board. He plans to take a break before sharing his next projects.
- Replacing Zooko as Zcash CEO is Josh Swihart, who has been part of ECC leadership since 2018. Despite some disagreements, he and Zooko share the same vision for Zcash.
Zcash, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency, is undergoing a major leadership change. Zooko Wilcox, who co-founded Zcash and has served as CEO for 8 years, is stepping down.
Zooko Steps Down as CEO
In a personal blog post, Zooko explained his decision to resign as CEO of the Electric Coin Company (ECC), the developer of Zcash. He said leading Zcash for 8 years caused his identity to become too enmeshed with the company’s. For his own well-being, Zooko felt he needed to step back.
Zooko stressed that his resignation was completely amicable. He will remain on the board of the ECC’s parent company, The Bootstrap Project. After a break of a few months, he plans to share what projects he’ll work on next.
New CEO Announced
Replacing Zooko as Zcash CEO is Josh Swihart. Despite working part-time at an investment firm recently, Josh has been part of the ECC leadership team since 2018.
Zooko praised Josh’s six years at ECC, saying he became a core team member. While they have sometimes disagreed on approaches, Zooko said they share the same vision for Zcash.
Given the aligned vision between the outgoing and incoming CEOs, Zcash’s future looks bright. The transition seems likely to go smoothly.
