Zooko Wilcox, the CEO of Electric Coin Co., revealed on Dec. 18 that he is ending his eight-year association with the entity which is behind the privacy coin zcash. Despite leaving his role as the company’s top executive, Wilcox said he remains committed to anything focused on human freedom.
Wilcox’s Continued Reign Not Good for Himself or Zcash
On Dec. 18, Zooko Wilcox, the CEO of the Electric Coin Co. — the entity behind the privacy-focused crypto asset zcash — announced his resignation and revealed that Josh Swihart is set to become the new public face of the privacy coin. While he admitted to butting heads with Swihart in the past, Wilcox nonetheless expressed confidence in his successor’s ability to steer the Electric Coin Co forward.
In a statement explaining his decision to leave Zcash after eight years, Wilcox suggested that his continued presence would not bode well for his or Zcash’s health.
“…I had the opportunity to live out one of my science fiction dreams in reality. However, in the long run, I don’t think this conflation of Zcash with me personally is healthy for me, and I don’t think it’s healthy for Zcash. Zcash’s role in human history is, and will be, much bigger than any individual,” said Wilcox.
Zcash and the Quest for Freedom
Despite leaving his role as Zcash’s top executive, Wilcox said he remains committed to anything focused on human freedom. He added that anything that he does now would have to include Zcash “because the Zcash community is freedom’s best hope.”
This was an ad hoc analysis of a ZCash conference call for investors. We were on a tight deadline, but imo it still gives an idea of some fundamental problems with the project. pic.twitter.com/wfVCFLL48b
— Tuur Demeester (@TuurDemeester) December 18, 2023
Meanwhile, Tuur Demeester, the founder of Adamant Research, reacted to Wilcox’s departure by sharing a chart on X which shows the privacy coin ZEC’s gradual decline since its 2018 peak.
Demeester also shared a 2018 ad hoc analysis of Zcash’s investor conference call which highlighted some of the project’s fundamental problems. In the analysis, which he helped to prepare, Demeester and his team expressed their concern at Wilcox’s inability to clearly articulate Zcash’s plans. The hastily prepared analysis also singled out Wilcox’s claim about the lack of hard forks and their impact on privacy.
A statement released by Electric Coin Co. confirmed Wilcox’s departure and the return of Swihart as the CEO. The statement said Wilcox “will continue as a director on the board of the Bootstrap Project, the parent company of ECC.”
