Zcash Outpaces Bitcoin Gains as Key Development Team Raises $25 Million
Zcash (ZEC), a privacy-focused cryptocurrency, surged 7% in the past day, outperforming Bitcoin’s gains. This spike follows a $25 million Series A funding round raised by the Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL), a new venture led by former Electric Coin Company (ECC) head Josh Swihart. Major investors include Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz, Winklevoss Capital, and Coinbase Ventures. ZODL develops the Zodl wallet—formerly Zashi—which has increased Zcash's shielded pool by over 400% and facilitated more than $600 million in swaps since October 2025. The entire former ECC team has joined ZODL, continuing protocol development with a focus on usability and ecosystem growth. Launched in 2016, Zcash prioritizes privacy and untraceability of transactions compared to other cryptocurrencies. After peaking at nearly $700 last fall, ZEC recently traded at $215, reflecting short-term gains but still showing a decline over the past month.
