The privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash surged 7% in the past 24 hours following a significant funding announcement. The Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL) raised over $25 million from a consortium of prominent investors including Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz. The fresh capital will support the development team, which recently migrated from the Electric Coin Company, as they continue work on core protocol and wallet development.
The Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL) announced it has raised over $25 million in a funding round from a group of prominent investors. Backers include Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz, Winklevoss Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and notable angel investors.
Founded by former Electric Coin Company CEO Josh Swihart, ZODL continues development work initiated at ECC. The full ECC team departed that company in January and migrated to ZODL.
The team maintains a focus on protocol development and the ZODL wallet, formerly known as Zashi. Since its 2024 launch, the wallet has grown Zcash’s shielded transaction pool by over 400% and processed more than $600 million in ZEC swaps since last October.
ZODL said the funding reflects strong conviction from respected crypto investors in privacy and the Zcash ecosystem. “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,” the organization stated.
Launched in 2016 with input from whistleblower Edward Snowden, Zcash is designed to provide stronger transaction privacy than Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency recently traded at $215, representing a 7% daily gain that outpaced Bitcoin’s own nearly 3% rise.
Zcash’s price saw a significant resurgence last fall, rising from about $50 in September to nearly $700 in November. Despite recent declines, this marked a multi-year peak for the privacy coin.
