Zcash developer announces the strengthening of the project’s decentralization

Electric Coin Company terminates trademark agreement with Zcash Foundation

30.04.2024 - 14:00

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What’s new? Electric Coin Company (ECC), the company behind the development of the anonymous cryptocurrency Zcash (ZEC), has announced that it has terminated the Zcash trademark and license agreement with the Zcash Foundation (ZF). According to the company, this will increase the decentralization and sustainability of the project.

Press release

What else is known? The agreement was made in 2019 to guarantee that any Zcash upgrade is in line with the consensus reached in the project’s community, which is determined by “evidence agreed to by both parties:” the ECC and the Zcash Foundation.

According to ECC representatives, the project no longer needs such agreements, and the management of the protocol “should extend beyond the reach of the two parties.” They added that the project’s community has matured since the agreement, with many third parties actively involved in the research, design, development, and implementation of the protocol.

“We believe both organizations’ leaders are good actors today, but we should not assume this will always be true,” the ECC stressed.

They also noted that ZEC and other anonymous cryptocurrencies are facing increasing regulatory pressure, making it necessary to take action as soon as possible to increase the decentralization of the project.

European Parliament has approved a ban on mixers and anonymous cryptocurrencies

The bill must be approved by the finance ministers of the bloc’s member states for it to take effect

The existence of an agreement between the two organizations could be interpreted by the authorities as the presence of a centralized management body. The company emphasizes that this exposes the project to regulatory risks, especially given the increasing harassment of the crypto industry in the United States. “We felt the very real impacts at ECC when the SEC subpoenaed us (ZF, too) last year,” ECC notes.

The new protocol governance model, which the community has yet to work out, will include many other teams and stakeholders in different parts of the world. According to the ECC, this will help Zcash grow and evolve to meet real needs.

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